Since You've Been Gone
by Emmalia and Kaitlyn
Summary: What happens when Zoey's past catches up to her? Will she be able to forgive and forget, or will she continue to be stuck in the past? And, what if, maybe... just maybe... she fell in love with HIM all over again? R
1. In the Dark

**Okay, so here's your first chapter of Since You've Been Gone. **

**But first... the writers of this fanfic were listed in the Important Notes that I have replaced with this chapter. **

**_Jessica Baylin_~I write the basis of the story. Storyline, characters in the story, things that happen. **

**_Cyara Baylin_~I write fights, rated M content, and things of that nature. I also help Jessica with her writing in general and she is currently getting better at writing fighting scenes and minor rated M content. **

**_Evangeline Danials_~I am Jessica and Cyara's best friend. I am 15 almost 16, and I write sweet stuff. I write everything that is sweet and calm and basically a relax scene. After the big fights and sex scenes, I write the "no-fighting-today" scenes. **

**_Malissa and Emmalie_~Malissa and Emmalie are twins. They just wanted to be a part of this. They will write pretty much everything the Twins say because they are, FREAKishly, like the Twins. **

**Another writer, Adam Mila, was pissed that we didn't let him in on the fanfic. He'll write... well, the totally guyish things. Such as... I don't know. I'm not a guy. I have a filter between my brain and my mouth. So... you'll know. **

**Disclaimer: The following is for this chapter and the following chapters of this fanfic: None of the writers own ANYTHING of the HoN. All we own is the storyline and plot and SOME characters. Which means DON'T STEAL THEM!**

**Oh. This fanfic doesn't really have a beginning. It starts in a dark room. Just read and find out...**

Chapter One

_~In the Dark~_

_Zoey_

I was walking down the hallways of the Chicago House of Night. I had an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn't understand at first, but I soon would.

The hallways got really dark. There was no light in any form. Now, I am a fledgling and don't really have a problem with the dark or seeing in the dark, but this was terrifying. I had this sick feeling in my stomach and I had the horrible feeling that someone was watching me. But there was also a feeling of rightness. This horrible feeling was supposed to be there. Whatever was watching me, Nyx knew about and apparently approved. That didn't make me feel any less sick.

"Zoey?" A familiar voice whispered. I froze. No. Way. I had to be dreaming.

"Pro-Professor Nolan?" I whispered back, confused.

"Of course. Who else?" I could hear the smile in her voice, which had echoed in the giant... well I didn't know what it was.

"Zoey? This is fucked up. I'm scared. I wanna get out of here. Where are you. I'm just a human. I can't see." I couldn't help but laugh at the nervous tone in Aphrodite's voice.

"Follow my voice." I said.

"Which one?" She nearly squeaked.

"Aphrodite. Calm down. You're not gonna die." I faltered at the last word.

"Who's with you?" She asked. I suddenly felt sharp nails piercing the skin of my arm. "Is that you, Zoey?" She whispered. I sighed.

"Are those your nails digging into my arm?" I asked trying to pull away. The hands around it tightened.

"I'm scared Zoey. I just... woke up here." She sounded close to tears.

"I'll call fire so we can see."

"No! I don't wanna see what's in here." She said, panicking. I chuckled.

"Aphrodite, child. Calm down." Nolan said.

"Professor Nolan? What the fuck?" I sighed at per typical Aphrodite.

"How are you here?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"I must help you on your journey." Nolan said eerily. Her voice was vacant, as if she weren't even there

"Wow." Aphrodite said, sounding like she had been crying. She sniffed. "Next thing you know, Loren Blake will be coming back from the dead."

"That's not even funny." I said seriously. Aphrodite laughed softly.

"It kinda is. When I make comments like that, I don't feel so scared." She said. I sighed and nodded.

"Well, you do whatever makes you feel... not scared. So long..." I trailed off, not knowing how to word it.

"As it has nothing to do with your dead lover." She finished.

"Do not _ever_ call him that again. _Ever_." I nearly yelled. My voice held the power of the goddess and I couldn't help but cover my mouth with my free hand in shock.

"Wow. You really hate him." Aphrodite said with a giggle.

"It's not funny." I said in irritation. She cleared her throat a few times before she spoke.

"Of course not." She whispered.

"Zoey?" Nolan asked softly. I felt something cold touch my arm and Aphrodite let out a little scream. I laughed quiet as a whisper. I noticed that I wasn't the only one that laughed. I heard a familiar sound far in the back of the dark... place. I shook my head and focused on comforting Aphrodite.

"Aphrodite. Nolan is dead. Or... was. So... she's bound to be, and feel, different. Cause... she's dead." I whispered, trying so hard not to laugh.

"I think I like the red fledglings better." She whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"What is it, professor?" I asked.

"Oh so you call _her_ professor and are all formal, but with Blake—Ow!"

"Bring him up again and I will do more than elbow you." I threatened.

"Okay, okay." She said. "Geez."

"We are here to help you." Nolan continued. "But you must heal us completely. For we are nothing without our souls. Or our former bodies." Aphrodite squealed and pushed herself closer to me. Goddess, I was going to have serious bruises.

"You don't have any bodies?" She asked quickly. Nolan laughed.

"Yes, Aphrodite. We do. But we are not exactly... in one piece."

Okay. When someone is standing practically on top of you, it _really_ hurts when they scream right in your ear. I found that out as Aphrodite let out a blood curdling scream. My hands immediately went to my ears which wasn't a very smart idea seeing how Aphrodite's nails were still digging to my bones.

"Aphrodite! Stop!" I exclaimed. She literally started sobbing.

"I wanna go home." She cried. "I don't want to see that again, Zoey. I can't do it again. I... I've already had nightmares about it. I wanna go home."

"Aphrodite. Calm. Down. Everything will..." I trailed off, realizing what Nolan had said. "You said we." I said simply.

"Yes. We." Nolan said. "I alone cannot help you."

"I swear if Loren Blake is here, I will never make another nasty comment ever again." Aphrodite said, currently forgetting the whole "not in one piece" thing.

"Still not funny." I said firmly.

I felt something cold touch my neck, tracing over my Marks.

"You're still amazing. My Zoey." He barely even breathed the last two words. I couldn't help the shiver that passed through me, though I was frozen inside and out. Aphrodite decided that just then was the best time to make one of her Aphrodite Comments.

"I told you. I told you. But you didn't believe me. Now... the comments may not have been funny," She said. "But that is seriously pee worthy." I just stood there, gritting my teeth. "You know what seriously sucks? The fact that I can no longer make any nasty comments. At least about you and your... fuck bunny."

"That's it!" I exclaimed. Stepping away from _him_, I called fire so I could see her. Her face was pale white and her eyes were filed with tears from laughing so hard. Her grin faded immediately. Her face turned green and she looked like she was about to vomit. She pointed behind me. I slowly turned around.

Okay, so I knew she was pointing out that they weren't completely healed, but all I could see was the guy standing in front of me.

"Yeah, I'm out." I said, turning and going to leave. Aphrodite grabbed my arm.

"You... you gotta fix 'em." She breathed. "Before I throw up. Please?" I sighed and turned back around to face them. I went over to Nolan who stood behind... ugh.

Her skin was white with a pale blue tint to it. Her eyes had dark, black circles underneath them. She was skin and bones and a long gash ran along her neck, blood surrounding it.

I slowly reached out and touched the wound, calling the elements to heal her. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief as the wound was completely healed. I touched her stomach and healed that... mess. She smiled softly.

"Thank you, Zoey." She rasped.

"You need blood. Aphrodite?" I asked sheepishly. She sighed, pushing her sleeve up.

"I'm on it." She droned. I slowly turned.

"Zoey." He breathed. I quickly glanced at the damage Neferet had done.

"Neferet must have really loved you." I said bitterly. I reached up and touched the gash on his neck. He sighed as the it disappeared. I ran my hand down his body, healing the... ew that Neferet had left me. When I was done, I took my hand away and turned to Aphrodite. She looked at me.

"Nuh-uh. I ain't feeding him. I can barely stand up." She said groggily. She closed her eyes, leaning against professor Nolan. The color had come back to her skin, making her look more, well, alive. I sighed, and she smiled.

"You have to, Zoey. You have to help him. He's suffered more than enough." She said sadly. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"I have a tendency to Imprint with anyone who drinks from me and vise versa." I said. She laughed softly.

"That does not matter, Zoey. What matters is that you save him. What matters is that you do your job." I nodded and turned back around.

"Uh... I gotta lay down. Whoa." Aphrodite stumbled and Nolan caught her by the arm.

"We'll be over here, Zoey." She informed me. I nodded and watched them as they left. I sighed again as I looked back at Loren.

I went to drag my nail across my wrist when he stopped me. I shivered at the coldness of his skin but didn't pull away. I looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice emotionless.

"I can't take that from you." He whispered. Whoa. Um. Okay. I wasn't exactly expecting that.

"Well, you've taken my body, my heart, and my soul... this shouldn't be too much." I said. His eyes met mine and I instantly felt like crap. Okay, when professor Nolan had said that he had suffered more than enough, she had meant it. His eyes were haunted and filled with agony.

I sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry. It's just... I didn't expect to ever see you again... and so I thought this little problem was in the past. And now everything is... coming back." I said softly. "You need blood, Loren. You need blood or you will die. Again. Whether I like you or not, I don't want you to die. I don't want anyone to die. Especially when I can prevent it." I slashed my arm, gasping at the sharp pain. I held my wrist so he could see the blood. "You've taken a lot from me. It's time you give back. At least do this for me?" The last part came out more like a question. He shook his head, backing away from me. I sealed the cut shut and walked over to Aphrodite and Professor Nolan.

"Well?" She asked.

"He won't drink from me." I said, sitting down next to Aphrodite.

"If he doesn't drink, he will die." I nodded.

"I know that." I said, my voice hard. "I'm sorry. It's just..." I trailed off.

"Him being here is hard for you, Zoey. That's understandable." Aphrodite said, taking my hand in hers. "But you need to get him some blood. Does it have to be fresh or can it be a blood baggie?" She asked Nolan. I shook my head.

"Fresh. Blood baggie won't be nearly enough." I said. She stood.

"Where are you going?" I demanded.

"I'm going to feed the idiot." She said. I grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back down.

"No. You've lost enough blood. You're not going to lose any more just because he wants to be stubborn." I said. "It's not really worth it."

"Zoey. You can't let what happened between you two get in the way of your job." Nolan said.

"I don't do what I do because it's my job. I do what I do because it's right. I do what I do because I love saving people. I do what I do because everybody has a family." Tears filled my eyes at the speech I had given everyone back home when I had told them I was leaving. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love. And I know what it's like to lose your family. I do what I do, not because I have to or need to. I do it because I want to. And I love doing it." I stood and went over to Loren.

I sat down next to him, bringing my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.

"You have to have blood, Loren." I said slowly.

"I deserve to be dead." He said.

"No one deserves to be dead." I paused. "Well, maybe Neferet, but she doesn't count." I looked away from him. I looked around the dark dome-like room. There were no doors and no windows. It was nothing but wall and ceiling.

"No one deserves to be dead. She killed you for no good reason." I looked back at him. "Just because you did... what you did... doesn't mean that you deserve to be dead or that you should just let yourself die." I shook my head. "I'm not gonna let you die. Because... even though you hurt me... I don't want you dead." I said. He finally looked up at me, meeting my eyes.

"Why?" He whispered.

"Because I need you." I said firmly. "I need you, and I don't want you to be gone."

"Why?" He asked, still confused. I sighed and leaned against him. I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna tell you why cause it's really embarrassing and Aphrodite has killer hearing and I really don't want to die yet." I said simply. I saw her narrow her eyes suspiciously before they widened.

"You love him!" She yelled, jumping up to her feet. She swayed and her hand shot out to the wall to balance herself. She immediately sat back down.

"I have no comment for that. All I have to say is that you need blood." I said.

I turned to him and gave him my wrist. I slowly ran my nail down, making a small cut.

"Please. I need you, Loren." I said sadly. I gasped a the familiar pleasure that always took over when I drank from someone and vise versa. I bit back my moan and closed my eyes. I wasn't real surprised as I felt the bond form. It was bound to happen anyways.

It seemed like only seconds had passed when he pulled away and sealed the cut on my wrist. I opened my eyes and smiled.

He wasn't all icky and corpse-y looking. He looked, well, alive. I could still see the scar on his neck from where I hadn't been able to completely heal him. But other than that, he looked just like he had almost four years ago.

"Thank you." I whispered. He nodded, not saying anything. "What's wrong, Loren?" He just shook his head, still not looking at me. "You're lying. I can feel it. What's wrong?" I put my hand on his shoulder. "Look at me." I said.

He finally looked up at me and I could still see that haunted look in his eyes. I could see the never ending guilt. I wrapped my arms around him in a hug.

"It's okay. It'll all be okay. And... I forgive you, Loren. I forgave you a while ago, actually. Almost two months after you died, I found out that I was pregnant." I felt him tense and I smiled. "Well, that was a long time ago. She's now almost four, and is absolutely _gorgeous_." I couldn't help but smile at the mention of her. My smile faded, however. "I had to leave her behind. I had to... I had to chose between leaving her at the House or with my parents." I wiped the tears that had started falling away. I sniffed. "I decided, since Heath was dead, that I would leave her with his parents. They're good people, Loren. I know they are. I love them like they are my own."

"What's her name?" He asked softly. I smiled at his curiosity.

"Mackenzie." I said.

"You told him?" Aphrodite asked, her hands on her hips. I nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" She said, holding up a hand to stop me from continuing. "You told him? Ohmigoddess, Z! You mean you _actually_ told someone a secret?" I glared at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped, my voice harsh. Aphrodite shrugged.

"That you suck at getting things out and asking for help." She paused, looking at Loren. "And making up your damn mind." She said. I rolled my eyes, a smile on my face.

"I feel sorry for Mackenzie. She has such a dick for a father." I heard her mumble. I hissed softly. "Sorry, sorry. But... I thought he wasn't your _lover_, Z." She taunted. I looked up at her and snarled. Her eyes widened and she held her hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. My bad." She said in a small voice. I sighed and laid my head back on Loren's shoulder.

"How do we get out of here? Z's exhausted and I wanna go back to bed." Aphrodite said.

"Zoey? Do you think you could call Spirit to take us home?" Loren asked softly. I shrugged slightly.

"I could try. But I'm really weak." I said. Aphrodite nodded in agreement.

"Spirit, come to me." I whispered. I felt the rush of joy enter me, swirling playfully around me. I smiled. "Take us home. Take us all home." I said.

And then we were there. Only, we weren't at the _Chicago_ House of Night.

We were at the _Tulsa_ House of Night.

**And there's your first chapter. BTW: All chapters will be AT LEAST 5 pages long. **


	2. Back Home

**Okay, so here's your next chapter. **

**I am sorry to say that the A/N's in this fanfic will not be as short as the others I have written. **

**I know that some of you are probably confused as to why they were at the Chicago House of Night. A lot of secrets will be revealed in this chapter. I think I'm going to stick with Zoey's POV. It's easier and it's in my comfort zone. Another note is that I, Jessica Baylin, will not be writing this chapter. So, here's news from the writer. **

**Cyara Baylin~No, there are no lemons or fighting. BUT, Jessica get too into her writing and there will be a lot of fights between Zoey and some of her friends, and Jessica gets a little... angry when she writes stuff like that. BTW, we had to get her a new phone because she accidentally broke it while she was writing. Don't ask. **

**So, here's your next chapter...**

Chapter Two

_~Back Home~_

_Zoey_

I looked at a panicked Aphrodite.

"Oh goddess." She breathed. She grabbed on to my arm. "Z, we gotta get outta here. Now." Her voice was quick and urgent. I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant.

"You aren't going anywhere." A voice said from behind us. I quickly turned around, coming face to face with a Raven Mocker.

"Which one are you, and what do you want?" I asked quickly. We really needed to get out of here and we weren't going to make it if we were too busy making conversation.

"Rephaim, priestess." I could hear the sneer in his cold voice. I glared.

"Don't be pissed at me because I hurt your Stevie Rae, Rephaim. I did what I did for a reason. Not like they care." I said bitterly.

"You hurt her. That is all that matters to me." He said, taking hold of my arm. I jerked out of his grasp.

"You have no idea why we left! So you can't tell me what I did was wrong!" I said, my voice low and dangerous.

"Father wants to see you." He said.

"Your father doesn't know I'm here." I stated. He shook his head slightly.

"He said to bring you to him once you returned." He said, taking my arm again. I took a step away from him.

"We're not staying. I made a slight mistake telling Spirit to take us home." I said warily.

"This is your home." He said reluctantly. I shook my head.

"I meant back at the House we've been staying at." I said. Aphrodite took my hand and I held on firmly. She had a hold of Professor Nolan's hand. I quickly glanced at Loren standing on my right side. I felt his hand in mine and I slowly intertwined my fingers with his.

"And where would that be?" He hissed.

"None of your business." I said evenly.

I could feel Loren's confusion and disgust at the creature in front of us.

"Where are the other Raven Mockers?" I asked. He eyed me suspiciously.

"Why?" I shook my head.

"I would think that your daddy would have more than just one Raven Mocker out here waiting for me." I said. It was true. I expected twenty Raven Mockers to pounce on us as soon as we touched the ground of the Tulsa House of Night.

"How do you know I am the only one here?" He taunted.

"The only Raven Mocker, or the only one in general?" I questioned.

"There are no other Raven Mockers, Chosen One." He said. "But that does not mean that I am alone. For I am not the only one here."

Okay. I didn't like the sound of this.

"Zoey." Aphrodite breathed so only I could hear. "They're in the trees. Watching. And boy are they pissed."

"Who?" I breathed, my lips never moving.

"The nerd herd." She whispered back. Yeah. This was so not good. This was probably worse than Neferet and Kalona themselves finding us. No. I _knew_ it was worse.

"Let us go. We're not staying." I said, my voice getting harsh.

"Who said you could leave?" Another familiar voice asked. My eyes went to the figure stepping out of the shadows of the trees. He walked over to us and stood by Rephaim.

I guess Aphrodite knew that I didn't have anything to say to that because she squeezed my hand and spoke up.

"Nobody's talking to you, James." She said, her voice void of any emotion. She hadn't called him Stark since the week before we left. The same week that we both had to break all of our relationships with our friends.

"And I wasn't talking to you, LaFont." He said coldly, his eyes never leaving my face. I could feel him staring at me and I narrowed my eyes which were still focused on Rephaim. I quickly reverted them to Stark's.

"We are leaving. Whether you like it or not. Approve of it or not." I said firmly. "We do not wish to stay here. So we will stay here no longer."

"And how, exactly," Shaunee jumped down from the tree she had been hiding in. She came over to stand next to Stark.

"Do you expect to get out?" Erin finished, standing right next to her Twin. They both crossed their arms at the same time, proving that at least one thing hadn't changed since we had left. They were both glaring at us, their gaze getting harder, colder, as they looked at me.

"I command all elements whereas you only command one." I said simply. "And because Nyx gives us all free will. And my will is to leave." I said, my voice getting louder at the end. When I spoke again, it was in the voice of our goddess, Nyx, strong and powerful. "Or do you now worship the Tsi Sgili?"

They shifted uncomfortably and Stark winced.

"We still worship the goddess, Zoey." A softer voice spoke. Damien, with Jack at his side, walked over to the growing group. "The question is, are you?"

"Let us by. Or do we have to force you out of our way?" Aphrodite and I spoke completely in sync. I could see the confusion in their eyes, along with the pure hatred.

"I guess we'll be doing this the hard way, then." My gaze went to Stevie Rae as she dropped down to the ground from the giant tree that her and the rest of the red fledglings had been perched in. They walked as one, their eyes never leaving my form. I noticed that not all of the red fledglings where with them. I smiled cruelly.

"Hello again, Stevie Rae. And how might you be?" I asked sweetly, unable to keep the sneer out of my voice. She flinched and I saw pain in her eyes before she composed herself.

I knew Loren and Nolan were confused as hell, but they kept their mouths shut, for which I was thankful.

"Professor Nolan? Professor Blake?" Stevie Rae looked confused. "What are they doin' here?" She demanded, glaring at me.

"Our goddess. That's how they're here." I said, my voice hard.

"Enough with the conversation. Let's go." Aphrodite said to me. I nodded. We walked towards the group, power building up inside us.

That was the first gift the goddess had given us when we left. Aphrodite and I could hold hands and call on the power of Light. We were able to do anything. But we only used it when we needed to. It helped that we had Loren and Nolan. They could call on a little bit of the power, not nearly as much as Aphrodite and I, but still a good amount.

The group didn't even back away. The power grew and I looked at Aphrodite.

"A wall." We said. I looked back at the group and the power took the form of a giant wall. It was white and was glowing with power. We pulled our hands back, letting Loren and Nolan go, and pushed them forward.

The power hit them hard, throwing them back against the wall of the House. I immediately took Loren's hand again, and Aphrodite took Nolan's. We ran towards the wall, a little farther away from the group. We called just a little power to help us climb the wall. We jumped down and began to ran. I looked at Aphrodite.

"We need help." I said. She bit her lip, glancing ahead of us.

"Are you sure we're not calling for too much power?" She asked, unsure.

"She said when we need help. And it is impossible to make it with red fledglings after us." She nodded.

"Speed." We said. "Trust us Professors."

Everything around us blurred as we ran faster and faster.

"We need to slow down, Z." Aphrodite said. I nodded and slowed down so we could see the outlines of trees. I looked behind us.

"Crap." I breathed. "We need to hide." Aphrodite looked behind us and cussed under her breath as well.

"Let's find someone's house to hide in." I nodded.

We were soon in the middle of a neighborhood street. We looked around, never stopping.

"Don't ever stop moving. You're always moving." I said to our professors as I continued to look for an unnoticeable house.

"It's a good thing this is a cookie-cutter neighborhood." Aphrodite said. I nodded. We came up to a house and knocked on the door.

"Coming." A voice rang out. A young girl, about nineteen, opened the door. She had dark brown hair, light blue eyes, and tan skin. She was on the skinny side but looked fairly healthy. She saw our Marks and opened her mouth to scream. Loren threw his hand over her mouth.

"Don't scream." I said quickly. "We need your help. We need to hide in your house... before our ex-friends find us." I looked behind us, sighing in relief when I didn't see them.

"I'll tell you inside?" I said, hoping she would say yes. She slowly nodded.

She shut and locked the door, as we all pulled the blinds shut. We left a few open so it wouldn't be so noticeable.

"Okay, so... you left for... personal reasons but they still hate you and are after you to bring you back to the Tulsa House of Night?" I nodded. "And if they come to my house, asking if I've seen you four, I have to lie and tell them no."

"Yep. That's about right." I said.

"Wait." Aphrodite said, holding up a hand. "Can you lie? I mean decently?" I sighed and rolled my eyes at the girl. She grinned and nodded.

"I'm nineteen. I have two little girls and a boy. I've told plenty of lies. I've always loved drama." She went on. "And I've always been pretty good at it. So you're in no trouble." Aphrodite looked at me and I nodded approvingly.

"I like her already and I don't even know her name." She droned.

"Wow. You got Aphrodite to like you. That's amazing." I said to the girl. She laughed. "So what's your name?" I asked curiously. She smiled.

"I'm Megan Holloway." She said. "And you?"

"I'm Zoey Redbird and this is Aphrodite LaFont. These are our former professors, Nolan and Loren." I said, gesturing at each of them as I said their names.

"But you should call him Blake." Aphrodite said. I could tell by the smile on her face that this was heading in a direction I did not want it to take. "Only his lovers call him Loren." She said, smirking at me. I raised my hand as if to hit her. In the same second, she curled into a ball with a squeal.

"Don't kill me." She said. I laughed and lowered my hand.

"She's usually all attitude and doesn't give a dang about what you say to her." I told Megan. She nodded.

"I had a friend like that. Her name was Venus." Her smile faded. "She was Marked a long time ago."

"Wait. Venus Davis?" Aphrodite asked. Megan's gazed snapped to Aphrodite's.

"You know her?" She asked eagerly.

"She's one of the one's after us. You can't tell her or any of them though. Remember that." I said firmly. She nodded just as the doorbell rang. We hurriedly made our way into the big closet next to the stairs.

"Coming." Megan called. I heard the door open and Aphrodite and I automatically held our breath.

"Hello, we were just wondering if you've seen any fledglings or vampyres around." Stark said formally.

"M-Megan?" I heard Venus's voice ring.

"H-hello Venus. Nice to see you again." Megan said. I could hear the smile in her voice. "I'm sorry, but no. I haven't seen any vamps around." Her voice got really quiet near the end. "We don't really get any of those around here." I heard footsteps on the stairs and we all froze.

"Mommy? I'm hungry." A small, little girl's voice said.

"Okay, baby. Go sit down at the table. I'll be right there." Megan said softly. "Don't touch anything, Casey."

"Y-You're a mother?" Venus asked.

"Yeah. She's almost four. She has a little sister, Anna. She's almost three. And their brother is almost two." Megan said. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she loved and adored her kids.

"Oh, well. Sorry to bother you at such a late time." Stark said.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm up at this hour anyways. Casey always wakes up around this time, hungry." Megan said dismissively.

"Oh, well, if you see any vamps around, give the House a call." Stark said.

"Will do." She said. I heard her say something, but it was too quiet for me to hear.

"Busted." Loren whispered. I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked.

"She's with them." He whispered back.

There was a knock on the door and I shook my head to silence Aphrodite. I took her hand and spoke slowly.

"Hide us." I breathed.

"Hide us." She repeated. I felt the power cloak us right as the closet door opened.

"I don't understand. They were here a minute ago." Megan said, confused and frustrated.

"They still are." Shaunee said coldly.

"She probably called the elements to hide her." Erin agreed.

"Typical." They said together.

"Time to use our newest addition to our group." Erik said, smiling down at the little girl in his arms. I nearly let go of Aphrodite then and there. I had to bite my lip to keep from snarling and screaming. I knew that my eyes were boiling.

I felt Loren squeeze my hand. I looked up at his questioning gaze. I felt fear wash over him as he saw my expression. I looked back at the little girl. My little girl. My Mackenzie.

"Mackenzie here has a gift that her mother apparently didn't know about." Erik said smugly. Oh, I knew about it. I was the one who had figured it out. I was the first to know that she even had a gift.

"The family she left her with tried to hide her. They tried to bargain with us. They even said for us to kill them and to leave her alone." He shook his head. "They're apparently still grieving."

"Mackenzie can find people." Stark said. I could see the discomfort in the eyes of my other "friends". Stevie Rae didn't like what they were doing. The Twins were disgusted by Stark and Erik's tone and the way they talked about Heath's parents and Heath himself. Damien had a disapproving expression, and Jack kept his gaze on the ground.

Erik looked down at Mackenzie.

"Mackenzie. Find mommy." He said softly. Mackenzie looked up at him. Fingers still in her mouth, she looked around the room. I shook my head before her gaze got to me. She hesitated before she took her fingers out of her mouth and slowly pointed in my direction. I felt tears in my eyes as the others surrounded the area.

"You're going to have to get rid of them." I shook my head at Aphrodite.

"I can't hurt her." I said. No sound came out of our mouths. We were talking through our Link. It had been made for situations just like the one we were currently in.

"You're gonna have to, Z. I know you hate it, but we have to do everything we can before we give up." She said firmly.

"Yeah? Well, I _can't_ do this." I said, tears falling down my face. Erik took a step closer to us as well as Stark.

"Please, Z? I don't want to have wasted all of this effort just to get caught now." She pleaded. She was sobbing. And she was scared. She was scared of getting caught.

I took a deep breath and hurled power at the center of the group. It was like a gate opened up and I threw Aphrodite and the others through the gap.

"Run!" I yelled. They did. None of us were hidden and calling for the power wouldn't help because I wasn't connected with Aphrodite. But they could run. And they ran.

Aphrodite looked back at me.

"Go." I mouthed. Tears in her eyes, she ran.

And I was left alone.

"Should we go after them?" Erik asked Stark. Stark studied me. I saw nothing in his eyes. There was no love, no hurt, nothing. There was nothing but darkness. Anger. Hatred. I met his eyes with resign. With defeat.

But I would not stay defeated. I would find a way out as soon as possible.

"Give. Me. My. Baby." I said, my voice low and dangerous.

"No can do, Z." Erik said happily. I snarled at him, the sound bouncing off the walls, echoing eerily around the room.

"Erik. Just give her the baby." Venus said, bored.

"No. She'll just run once she has her." He said, his eyes never leaving me.

"Where the hell would I go?" I demanded. "My parents hate me and you'll just follow me there anyways. And I can't exactly run."

"We can't chance it." Stark said.

"Give me my baby!" I screeched.

"Erik! Just give her the damn baby!" Shaunee yelled. He still didn't make a move to give her to me. I lunged at him then.

Now, what happened next, I never imagined that I would ever see in my life. Stark stepped in front of Erik, pulling out an arrow at the same time, aiming right for me.

I froze. I searched his eyes for something, anything, like the Stark I used to know. The one that would never hurt me. My Guardian.

But I didn't find him.

I didn't even find the "evil" Stark. Even _he_ didn't want me hurt. But this Stark... this was a Stark I had never seen before.

But, for some reason, I didn't stop. I pushed the others away from me and kept making my way towards Erik. Stark was like a coiled snake, ready to attack at any second. My eyes never left Mackenzie's, though. She was my daughter. I would give my life for her.

And suddenly, I wasn't alone.

"Erik. How _wonderful_ to see you again." Loren said sarcastically. "You seem to always be in my way." He made his way over to Erik. "In case you haven't noticed, that's my child you're holding."

I smiled a small smile as Mackenzie looked at him. It was like she was looking at him to make sure he was on her side. She looked back at Erik, asking.

He shook his head. "He's not on our side. He never was." He said softly. Mackenzie looked at me. My eyes pleaded her to go to him. She looked back at Loren. She reached for him and I couldn't help but sneer.

"My child isn't stupid, Erik. She's not yours." I said as Loren took Mackenzie from him. She clung onto him like he was her savior.

"Forget her. We got what we came here for." Erik said.

The Twins grabbed a hold of me, their hands tight around the tops of my arms.

"Leave him. He's just a pain in the ass." Erik said when the others went for Loren. They laughed cruelly and left him standing there. I looked back at Megan. She looked back and forth between Mackenzie and me.

"A child." She mouthed, looking flustered. "She has a child."

"You said nothing about her having a child." She said simply. Venus shrugged, looking down. I noticed that she hadn't said a single thing since they used Mackenzie to find me.

"Does it matter?" She mumbled. Megan shook her head.

"You have seriously changed, Venus." She said sadly. "Get out and don't come back." They pulled me out of the house towards a black limo.

"This is the rich part of town, Zoey." Erin said blandly, seeing my confused expression.

"We gotta fit in." Shaunee finished.

They put me in the back and I gritted my teeth.

I had kept my gaze down for this very reason. I wasn't alone and I knew that I wouldn't be.

"Zoey." He said. I closed my eyes and turned my head away from him. It had been so long since I had seen or heard him. "Look at me, Zoey." His voice was firm, but I heard a spark of anger within it.

I didn't turn my head. I couldn't look at him. I wouldn't look at him. I knew it would be too much.

"Do what he says, bitch." Ugh. Well, Neferet hadn't changed. _At all_. But, even though her voice was still sharp and cold and down right hateful, I could hear curiosity. Okay, is this bitch _really_ curious as to what I looked or sounded like now? That... isn't normal. Then again, nothing was ever normal when it came to me.

I slowly turned my head and opened my eyes, keeping my gaze on the floor.

"Look at me." He demanded. I was close to tears and I didn't even know why. I shook my head, quickly wiping the tears away.

"Oh my goddess." Neferet breathed.

"Neferet. I told you to keep your mouth shut. I suggest you do so." Kalona's voice was cold and hard. Well, their relationship hadn't changed much. Okay, so... there were still a few things that hadn't changed at all.

"What is wrong, Zoey?" Okay, he must be angry. He hadn't called me "A-ya" or "my love" once. And that was never good.

I just shook my head, finding it hard to speak. I could hear Erik laughing softly in front of us. My head snapped up and I glared at him.

"Fuck off, Erik Night!" I nearly screamed. I immediately put my head down as soon as the words were out of my mouth.

I heard Neferet laughing almost silently.

"I have wanted to say that for the longest time." She sighed heavily.

"Neferet." Kalona warned.

"What? The boy's a nuisance." She said. "Not to mention an ass." I couldn't help but smile. Okay, maybe Neferet wasn't too crazy after all. If she thought Erik was an ass, she must have had some sanity left in all that crazy she had going on.

"Zoey Redbird. Look at me." Kalona said. There was something in his voice that made me finally look up at him.

It was just as bad as I knew it would be. And more. I felt A-ya leap inside me. She wanted him. She wanted him more than anything. And you know what? I wanted him, too. And that's just wrong.

"What?" I barely breathed. I could tell by the look on his face that he was seriously pissed.

"What you did was inexcusable." He said, his voice rising. Oh great. He was using big words. I mentally sighed. Here comes the Kalona Rant.

"Before you start," I said, my voice rough and raspy. "I need to make it clear that I did what I did for a reason. One that only Aphrodite, Nyx, and I, know. What I did, was for the safety of all of us." I crossed my arms across my chest, sinking back in the seat. "Continue."

His eyes flashed with anger and I couldn't bear to look at him anymore. I looked back down at the floor.

"Do not look away from me when I'm speaking to you." Kalona said. His voice didn't rise. It was calm and even. It utterly terrified me. I slowly looked back up at him.

"You weren't speaking." I said. I was just saying it to be saying it and I think he knew that. That was probably the only reason why he didn't backhand me.

"Tell me these reasons, Zoey." He said. I shook my head.

"No." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Why not?" He asked calmly.

"Because I'm not done with doing what I've been doing." I said simply. "I still have things to do. I'm going to get out of here. And I'm going to go back to where I came from. And, pissed or not, you can't do anything about it. I wanna do, what I wanna do, when I wanna do it. And I wanna go home." I leaned over towards him. "So, I'm going home. Get it?" I nearly snarled. I knew it was coming. And it came.

Everything went really fast then. He raised his hand and went to hit me. My hand immediately shot out and I caught him by the wrist.

Everyone went silent. They all stared, mouths agape and eyes wide. My eyes never leaving his, I threw his arm away in disgust.

"Never, try to hit me again." I said, my voice low and dangerous. "I'm not the girl who left. I'm not the girl who cowered away from you. I've change, Kalona. I will not put up with your shit anymore. You can't push me around anymore. I suggest you remember that." I slowly sank back down into my seat. Kalona just stared at me, stunned silent. The others looked at each other as if they didn't know how to respond. I quickly glanced over at Neferet. She had an eager grin on her face, her eyes sparkling.

"Wipe that grin off your face, Neferet." I snapped. "I'm not going to help you in any way whatsoever. So forget it." She glared at me. "Don't even open your mouth. I don't speak nasty." I leaned my head back against the seat, closing my eyes.

"Damn." The Twins whispered.

**Well, there you go. I actually got caught up in this chapter. Well, I hope you liked it. ~Cyara Baylin**

**!REVIEW!**


	3. Why?

**Hey. It's still me, Cyara. I'll be writing _most_ of this story, actually. Jessica will write the parts that were in her dreams and Evangeline and the Twins will write the chapters later on in the fanfic. **

**So, here's your next chapter...**

Chapter Three

_~Why~_

_Zoey_

We finally got back to the House of Night. The Twins pulled me out of the car and waited until Kalona was out as well.

"Let her go. She will be with me." He said. They nodded, dropped their heads, and walked with the rest of the group.

Stark stood with Erik in the front. The Twins, along with Damien and Stevie Rae, stood behind them in a line. The rest of the red fledglings stood around us. Five of those fledglings surrounded Neferet.

We walked in silence. I hadn't really paid much attention to the House the first time we were here. Now that I looked at it, I saw a drastic change.

The House was bigger. They had built onto it. I didn't know what it was, but I had a feeling that I didn't want to. There were Raven Mockers perched on the walls every couple yards.

"I thought we had killed most of them." I said mostly to myself. Kalona chuckled.

"I have many children, Zoey." He said, sounding more like himself. I blinked up at him. He raised a brow.

"Ew." I said bluntly. He grinned and threw his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. I tensed but said nothing.

"Last time I checked, you had no problem with sex. Mackenzie is proof of that." I swear my mouth dropped. Stevie Rae just happened to look back right then. She looked confused. I snapped my mouth just.

"I... it was a mistake. A mistake I made almost four years ago. I haven't had sex since." I said. He laughed.

"You can't tell me that you haven't had sex at least once after your... mistake." He said. I looked up at him.

"Yeah. I can actually. I have only had sex once in my life." I said. He gave me an odd look and I laughed. "The fact that you find that... horrifying? Is sad." I pointed out. He smiled softly.

"It's not my fault women can't resist me." He said with his I'm-so-hot smile. I rolled my eyes.

"You are _such_ a guy." I said. I hadn't noticed at first, but I suddenly realized that I was leaning against him. His arm had made its way down to my waist, holding me close. I took a deep breath, getting ready to pull away and tell him off, but I, instead, sighed heavily and let it go. I laid my head against his arm, exhausted. My legs decided then to give out. I felt myself fall to the ground as my eyes closed.

_~Awake or Asleep~_

_I was in my own little world. I wasn't sure if I was awake or asleep. I felt very groggy and so tired. _

"_Is she okay?" A familiar voice asked. _

"_I dunno. Is she breathing?" A voice asked with a little sarcasm. _

"_Don't get smart with me, Dallas." The voice warned. Dallas? Wasn't he evil? Last time I had checked, he was with Darkness. _

"_I'm not getting smart with you, Kramisha." Dallas said with exaggerated patience. I could tell her was getting irritated. _

"_Don't get that tone with me, neither." Kramisha said lazily. I wanted to laugh at their bickering. They hadn't changed much. _

"_Guys. Please." I tensed at the Okie Twang in this voice. "No fightin'." _

"_Looks who's talking, Miss. I Can't Choose a Side." Kramisha said, her voice cold and hard. Stevie Rae hissed. _

"_I have chosen my side, Kramisha. I may have made a lot of mistakes on the way, but I picked a side." She replied coldly. Dallas snorted. _

"_Took you long enough." I could hear the sneer in his voice. _

"_That's it! I am sick and damn tired of you bein' pissed at me because I love Rephaim!" I heard multiple gasps around the room and even something dropping to the floor. _

"_W-what?" A voice asked. _

"_I... I..." Stevie Rae sounded like she wanted to be anywhere but here. _

"_Stevie Rae?" I felt my own face get hot at that voice. I knew that voice. _

"_Rephaim... I..." Stevie Rae sounded close to tears. I was suddenly very aware. I was awake, and this was really happening. _

_I opened my eyes and looked at my surroundings. _

_Oh. My. Goddess. _

_~Awake~_

I was in the tunnels on one of the mattresses that we had used before, so long ago. Kramisha was standing next to me, her eyes wide, mouth opened. Dallas stood at the end of the bed, his expression the same. The other red fledglings were staring at Stevie Rae who had her face in her hands, humiliated. Rephaim stood in front of her, stunned silent.

I slowly sat up.

"Wait," I said groggily. Stevie Rae's head shot up and everyone looked at me except for Rephaim. His eyes stayed glued to Stevie Rae.

"Zoey." She sighed in relief. I smiled.

"So... I'm guessing you're on the good side?" I asked both her and the others. She nodded, a cute grin on her face. I looked at the others. "Can you leave me and Stevie Rae alone please?" I asked sweetly. They smiled warmly and left. "Rephaim?" I called as he went to leave. He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. "Stay, please." He nodded and walked over to the side of the bed.

"Now... what's this about you loving... Rephaim?" I asked Stevie Rae. I hated humiliating her, but I was confused and Rephaim looked the same.

"I... I saved him from a tree..." She said. I nodded for her to go on. "I fixed him up... I got hurt in the sun... I drank his blood... Imprinted with him... and... it just happened." She barely whispered the last part. Her eyes were pleading when she looked at me. "Please don't make me say it, Zoey." I grinned.

"You love him." I teased. I poked her on the arm. "Say it, Stevie Rae. You love Rephaim!" I giggled. She stared at me, confused.

"Wait... you don't hate me?" She asked slowly, confused. I shrugged.

"No. Not really. Why?" I asked simply. She just blinked at me.

"Stevie Rae." Rephaim whispered. I looked at him and smiled softly. I could see the love in his eyes but I could also see his confusion. He didn't know what this feeling was.

"It's love." I said. They looked at me, confused. "That feeling you have when you look at her, think of her? It's love. You've just never felt it before." I reached out and touched his face. "He has chosen his path to take. Break the bond between him and Darkness. Let love and Light through. Let his heart show. Who he truly is. Let him go." I murmured the words so they couldn't hear, calling on my newest gift that my goddess had given me. She had said I would use it soon. I hadn't really understood why I would need this but thanked her anyways.

He gasped, his eyes widening, as he changed. His beak disappeared as well as his feathers. It was amazing to watch as he went from murderous Raven Mocker to harmless human. Stevie Rae gasped, tears in her eyes. I smiled as I took my hand away.

"What did you do, Z?" Stevie Rae whispered. I shrugged.

"Just a little gift Nyx gave me not too long ago." I said nonchalantly. She grinned and threw her arms around Rephaim.

"I love you! I love you so much, Rephaim! I have for a long time now." She said happily. I sighed contentedly and laid back. She had finally admitted it. That's all the goddess wanted her to do.

"That's all she wanted. Nyx." I explained when they stared at me in confusion. "For you to admit that you loved him. Actually, she's been waiting for a long time now, apparently." I raised a brow. "How long have you loved him, exactly?" She blushed.

"Not too long after I Imprinted with him. Before I accidentally summoned the wrong cow."

"Bull." Rephaim corrected. She just stared at him.

"It's a cow, Rephaim." She said slowly. "A bull is a male cow. He's a cow." Her voice got a little louder and kinda angry. It was silent for a long time before I busted out laughing until I thought I might burst a lung.

"Good goddess, Z!" Stevie Rae said with a grin. "It ain't that funny."

"I know. I've just missed you." I said. I looked at Rephaim. "Kiss her _before_ I kick your ass." His eyes sparkled as he pulled my BFF close and brought his mouth down to hers. She melted against him, that I could see. She was in heaven. I knew that, too. They fit perfectly together. I could see the goddess, smiling in my head.

"Well, my work here is done." I said, sitting up. They grinned at me, still in each others' arms. I slowly stood, still weak from not feeding in almost two weeks.

"Are you okay, Z?" Stevie Rae asked softly. I nodded and went to leave. I stopped and looked at them over my shoulder. I eyed them. "Don't get too happy." I teased. I pulled the curtains away and left the small room.

"Hey, Zoey." Kramisha said. "How are you?" I nodded slowly.

"I'm... better." I said, my voice still weak. She looked at me, her hands on her hips.

"Uh-huh. I don't believe that any more than I believe that Neferet has a bit of sense." She said. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the kitchen.

"Kramisha." I said, stopping. She looked at me expectantly. "A blood baggie won't help. I need fresh blood. I haven't had any blood of any kind in nearly two weeks." She sighed and shook her head.

"You really need to learn to keep up with that." She said, pulling me the other way. We went into the big room that I had never seen before. All of the fledglings were sitting around and just talking and relaxing.

"Hey," Dallas said. "Look who's up. How's it goin', Z?" I smiled and nodded.

"It's goin' good." I said. "I see you're back on track." His smile turned sad and he nodded.

"Yeah. I came back about a year ago." He said. I grinned.

"Good. That's good." I said.

"Okay. Who's up to feeding Zoey?" Kramisha asked. I felt my face get hot and I looked down.

"I will." A familiar voice said. I looked up to see Loren standing in a corner, Mackenzie asleep in his arms. The red fledglings eyed him warily and he rolled his eyes at me.

"They're so uptight." He said softly. Kramisha hissed and took a step away from me as Loren got closer.

"We ain't uptight." She said, her voice hard. "We just don't like the dead. And I don't mean fledglings rejecting the Change. You was dead dead. You ain't supposed to come back from... that." She scrunched her face up in disgust as a shudder rattled her delicate frame.

"Thanks Kramisha." I said with a smile. She nodded, never taking her eyes off Loren. "But... if you don't like him or trust him... why would you let him have my baby?" I asked, testing her.

"I ain't said I don't trust him. I just don't like him." She said. Her eyes met mine and I immediately knew that she knew. She nodded. "That's why." She whispered. I swallowed the down the lump that had formed in my throat.

"What? That's why what?" Johnny B asked.

"Boy, you's too nosy for ya own good." Kramisha said. He grinned as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. I raised a brow at her.

"Don't you start, Redbird." She warned. I held my hands up in surrender and took a step back.

"I ain't said nothin'." I said, sounding a lot like she did. She stared at me in approval. Loren laughed quietly and I took his free hand. I smiled softly at Mackenzie.

"You were right." He said as we left the big tunnel room.

"'Bout what?" I asked.

"She is gorgeous." He said. I leaned against him.

"Yeah. She is." I whispered. "She loves you, you know." I looked up at him when he didn't respond. Just then, Stevie Rae and Rephaim came down the tunnel. Stevie Rae's face lit up when she saw Mackenzie.

"Can I have her?" She said when she got to us. I laughed and shrugged. I looked at Loren. He smiled down at me and handed Mackenzie to her. She yawned a big yawn and slowly opened her eyes. Stevie Rae smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Stevie Rae! Stevie Rae!" She threw her arms around her neck and hugged her. Stevie Rae buried her face in Mackenzie's dark curls.

"Zoey? I need to talk to you... alone." Loren said. I nodded and looked at the two lovebirds.

"Don't do _anything_ that will make me want to kill you in front of my child." I warned. Stevie Rae just blinked at me and then looked up at Rephaim.

"Why whatever do you mean, Zoey Redbird?" She asked eerily. I just stared at her. She laughed and started walking away. "Don't worry, Z. We'll be fine." I giggled at her Okie Twang.

We made our way to my old room. It was still the same, everything in it's place. I sat down on the mattress with a heavy sigh. I laid my head back against the wall, closing my eyes. Loren sat next to me and I wrapped my arms around him.

"Zoey?" I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Why... why did you save me?" He asked. "Back in that place." I just stared at him.

"Did you really just ask me that?" I asked with a small smile. "That is such a stupid question. I saved you because, one, Aphrodite looked like she was about to puke and, two, I couldn't let you stay like that." I shuddered. "All I have to say to that is a big fat ew." He smiled but it slowly faded as he traced the Marks all along my arms.

"But... why? Why do you care?" He whispered.

"Because I love you." I said. "I always have. Always will."

"But... I hurt you. I used you." He breathed. I straddled him, taking his face in my hands.

"Listen to me. I love you. I have always loved you. And I always will love you." I said firmly. "I don't have to have a reason why. I just know that _I love you_." I brought my lips down to his and instantly melted against him. His arms wound around my waist, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss. I felt the blankets against my back and I moaned as his lips made their way down my neck. His hands roamed my body and I arched my back. Though, as much as I wanted this, and trust me, I wanted it, we couldn't do this.

"Loren. No." I whispered. I gently pushed against his chest. He stopped and looked down at me. "Not tonight. Or... at least not that." I grinned and brought his lips back to mine. I swear my head nearly exploded. The way he kissed me, his scent, everything, was the same. And I absolutely loved it.

I heard someone clear their throat.

"Um... knock, knock." Loren pulled away and I looked over to see who had walked in on us. I felt my face heat up and I pushed Loren off of me.

"Um... hey. What are you doing here?" I asked. Kramisha smirked.

"I just came to check and make sure you got you some blood." She raised a brow. "I'm taking _this_ as a no?" I bit my lip and nodded.

"You can take this as a no." I said softly. She nodded.

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought." She said. She came in and sat down next to the bed. "I'm staying here to make sure you get your blood."

Loren laughed and I glared at him.

"It's not funny." I said firmly. He said nothing. He just reached up and cut his neck. I didn't hesitate for even a second. I sank my teeth into his skin and took what his blood offered. Strength and power.

I moaned at the pleasure that washed over me, clouding all of my senses. I straddled him, moving against him.

"I'm out." Kramisha said. I drank greedily and found it hard to pull away. When I did, I ran my tongue over the small cut, sealing it shut.

I laid my head on his shoulder, trying to catch my breath.

"Are you satisfied?" Loren teased. I rolled my eyes and laid back against the bed, pulling him with me so he hovered above me.

"Almost." I said with a sly smile. He raised a brow. "I said no sex. Not that you couldn't kiss me." I said before I kissed him, hard.

Goddess, I love him.

_~Awkward~_

_Stevie Rae_

I set Mackenzie in Rephaim's lap.

"I'm gonna check on Zoey." I said. He smiled and nodded. I kissed the top of Mackenzie's head. "Don't do anything funny while I'm gone, Mack." I said.

"Mack?" Rephaim asked. I shrugged.

"Yeah. Short for Mackenzie. Her name's kind of a mouthful." I said dismissively.

I silently walked down tunnels until I came to Zoey's room. I froze when I heard her moan. I had a strange feeling that she wasn't just drinking Loren's blood and I felt my face get really hot.

"I need you." She whispered. My eyes widened and I quickly ran back to my room.

"Stevie Rae?" Rephaim asked, concerned. I shook my head quickly.

"No. Don't ask. She's fine. She's more than fine." I said quickly. I grabbed a change of clothes and went to leave.

"Where are you going?" He asked. I looked over at him.

"I need a shower." I said, wrinkling my nose. He looked confused before his eyes widened. I nodded. "Yeah. So I'm going to take a shower."

"Mind if I join you?" He asked seductively. I bit my lip, trying to hide my smile.

"Hey Dallas?" I called out. He poked his head through the curtain.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Can you take Mackenzie?" I asked sweetly. He eyed me and Rephaim before his eyes widened. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Pervert." I muttered. He grinned and reached for Mackenzie.

"Give me that angel." He said playfully. I grinned at the two and left for the showers.

_~Why Wouldn't I~_

_Zoey_

I sighed, completely content. I snuggled up closer to Loren.

"I love you." I whispered. He shook his head, looking confused.

"I still don't understand why." He said softly.

"Do you love me?" I asked.

"With all my heart." He said.

"Would you ever think of leaving me?" I asked.

"Never." He whispered.

"Would you do anything to protect me?" That was a stupid question, I thought.

"Of course." He seemed confused by the questioning. I smiled.

"Then why wouldn't I?" I asked, taking his face in my hands. "I love you. Why does there have to be a reason? I love you and that's all that matters." I kissed him softly. I pulled away with a small smile. I laid back against the bed, my eyes closed, the smile never leaving my face. He lightly traced the Marks from my neck, down. I shivered when he got to the Mark around my waist. He wound his arms around me, pulling me to him, and I opened my eyes. He smiled at me.

"I love you, Zoey." He said. My heart sped up with those words. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

"I know that." I said. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"We're Imprinted, Z." He said. Damn! I knew he had felt it. I sighed and wrapped my own arms around him.

"I love you, too." I slowly pulled away, my smile sad.

"What's wrong?" I shook my head. I gently pushed him away and quickly got dressed in my clean clothes. I turned, leaning against the small dresser. I stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out how I was going to say this.

"I love you, Loren. I really and truly do. But... I'm confused. I love you. But... I still haven't let go..."I trailed off, not able to finish, say the words aloud. I felt tears in my eyes as the thought hit me. "I do know who I would have chosen, though." I barely whispered the words as a single tears fell.

_It's just me and you, babe!_ I smiled at his words that he had always said to me. I sighed and looked down at the floor. I was so... confused. I felt like I was going to explode, and not in the good why, either.

"Zoey." I felt Loren's arms around me, but I didn't respond. I was frozen. I was frozen in the past, reliving the memories with my Consort. But, like always, they weren't all happy.

The time he had told me loving me hurt too much.

The time when had said he was nothing but a refrigerator.

The last time I saw him alive.

The last time I ever saw him before he was taken away from me.

And it was all my fault.

Thinking about Heath still killed me. It hurt just as bad as it had four years ago. Though nothing, _nothing_, ever hurt nearly as much as when it actually happened, for which I was thankful.

"Zoey." Loren whispered against my neck. I closed my tear-filled eyes and stepped out of his arms. I shook my head headed for the door. I looked at him. His eyes were sad as he stood there, watching me leave. I wiped the tears away.

"I'm sorry." I said before I nearly ran out of there.

"Zoey?" Stevie Rae asked, coming down the hall. "What's wrong?" I shook my head as I pushed past her.

I made my way down the tunnels that I had memorized so long ago. I looked at the exit, remembering how scared stiff I used to get at looking at it, about how just thinking about leaving had scared us.

I slowly opened the trap door, stepping outside. I looked around, waiting for the Raven Mockers.

They were searching all over the grounds.

I felt a hand wrap around my ankle, jerking me down.

"What the hell are you doin', Z!" Stevie Rae nearly yelled. I glared at her.

"I'm leaving." I said.

"Are you crazy!" She exclaimed. "It's not safe out there."

"Yeah, well, newsflash, Stevie Rae. It hasn't been for four years. And it never will be. Not if we just keep hiding." I said.

"I'm not lettin' ya leave alone, Zoey." She said firmly. "Let's wait and make a plan first." I shook my head.

"This isn't just for saving the world, Stevie Rae." I said. "It's for me. I need to do this. I have to let go..." I trailed off and her eyes softened as she let go of me.

"I understand, Z. Just," she said. "Don't get yourself killed." I smiled.

"I won't." I said as I opened the trap door and slowly stepped out. I calmly walked towards the main entrance. The Raven Mockers immediately looked up, their eyes falling on me. I ignored them completely as I walked past them and into the House of Night.

There were fledglings standing all in the House hallways. They all stopped talking and looked up at me.

"Where. Is. Stark?" I said, my voice low and dangerous. Some snorted and laughed while others looked around nervously.

"Excuse me. Let me through." A familiar voice said. My eyes went to him as he pushed his way through the gathering crowd.

"Zoey?" Stark said, confused. I went over to him, my eyes never leaving his, until I was only a foot away. His eyes were cold and calculating. I slowly smiled and wrapped my arms around him, the tears finally falling.

"I've missed you." I breathed, burying my face in his chest. He didn't respond for a long moment and I started hearing laughing and nervous giggles.

"Zoey." He breathed. "You have to let me go." I looked up at him. I could tell he was trying to keep his I'm-such-a-badass face on. I took a step back and crossed my arms across my chest.

"What?" I asked aloud. Quietly, so only he could hear, I whispered, "I've missed you and your hot body."

I could tell he was trying not to laugh, but that didn't stop me. I laughed aloud, getting confused gazes from some of the fledglings. He narrowed his eyes and grabbed me by the arm.

"Play. Along." He murmured. I smiled smugly as he pulled me through the crowd of fledglings. They immediately parted so we could get through. I looked at all of the. They stared at Stark in awe and desperation.

"Oh my goddess!" I said so everyone could hear me. "There's a point where obsession leads to insanity." Stark snorted, trying not laugh. I saw Becca and Cassie glaring daggers at me and I smiled eagerly.

"Zoey. No." Stark warned sharply. I saw Becca and Cassie stare at me. "Okay, fine." He breathed.

"Hello, Becca. Cassie." I said sweetly. "And how are you two doing?" They exchanged confused glances and Cassie shrugged.

"Better before you got here." Becca said coldly.

"Really? That's your insult? I think you need to hang out with Aphrodite more often." I said sympathetically. "I think she told me something about you and Stark, actually. She saw people lying dead on the ground. And guess what? You were one of 'em. And do you know why?" I asked with a sweet smile. It faded instantly. "Because he was protecting me. So I suggest that you stand over here, shut the fuck up, and be a good little fledgling." I went back over to Stark who was having a hard time not laughing. As soon as we were out of earshot, he started laughing. I grinned and wrapped my arms around him. This time, though, he responded. Boy, did he respond.

He brought his lips down to mine, kissing me heady and deep. My hands went up and around his neck, pulling him closer. He pushed me up against a wall, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His hands roamed all over my body, making moan, wanting more. I wanted him; _needed_ him. But I couldn't do this. Not here. And definitely not now. I put my feet back on the floor, gently pushing him away. I was panting when he pulled away.

"Not here. Not now." I whispered. I laid my head against his chest, trying to catch my breath.

"I've missed you, Z. Where have you been?" He whispered, his arms momentarily tightening around me.

"Chicago House of Night." I said. "Ashley said to tell you hi." I looked up at him expectantly. He looked nervous.

"Yeah. About that... I didn't tell you cause I didn't want you to get mad." He said. I nodded.

"Yeah. Like Kramisha would say, uh-huh. I don't believe that any more than I believe that Neferet has a bit of sense." I said, repeating Kramisha's words from earlier. He smiled sheepishly.

"Oh! And I met Cyara and Brittany, too." I said, smiling. "They are..."

"Annoying?" He supplied.

"I was gonna say special but that works, too." I said. He smiled softly as we headed to my old dorm room.

"How's Mackenzie?" He asked.

"She's fine. Loves her father, too." I said with a small laugh. He looked confused.

"Who _is_ her father, anyways?" He asked nonchalantly. I sighed and ran my free hand through my hair.

"It's not Erik." I said. He was really confused then. "Or Heath."

"Wait. So you mean to tell me that you... you had sex with a guy that was _not_ your boyfriend?" Stark said, trying to get it straight. I slowly nodded.

"Yeah." I whispered.

"Well... that's fucked." Stark said. I laughed and shook my head.

"You are so crazy, Stark." I said. I leaned against him. "That's one of the many reasons I love you."

"I love you, too, Zoey. More than anything." He said softly. I smiled.

"More than anything." I agreed.

And so, on the way to my room which was all the way across campus, I told him about Loren and I.

"Loren Blake? Isn't he that poetry teacher that died?" Stark asked.

"Yes. Maybe. It's not important." I said quickly. Stark gave me an odd look.

"Um... Z? It won't kill me." He said with his cocky smile that I loved so much. I sighed and shook my head.

"Yes. That's the one." I said.

"He's the one? He's the father?" Stark asked nonchalantly. I nodded. "So... you had sex... with a teacher? Well... that's fucked." He said.

**Wow. That was really long. Jessica was like, Holy shit! You're gonna burn their eyes. Yeah, so... there you go. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked the chapter. ~Cyara Baylin~**

**!REVIEW!**


	4. Just Wanna See Daddy

**Heyyyy. It's me, Jessica Baylin. So... here's your next chapter. **

**Inspiration: Favorite Girl**~**Justin Bieber **

Chapter Four

_~Just Wanna See Daddy~_

_Zoey_

I slowly made my way to the Poet's Loft. It had been four years since I had actually been here. And the last time I was there, was when I had seen that horrible scene.

I looked down at an eager Mackenzie.

"Are you _sure_ you wanna see him?" I asked again, hoping she would say no. She nodded and I put a smile on my face.

"Perfect." I said sweetly. I slowed down until I was barely walking. I suddenly stopped and tensed, the memories hitting me hard.

"Mommy?" Mack asked, concerned. I shook my head.

"I'm... I'm fine, baby. Promise." I added when she gave me her _yeah right_ look.

I slowly walked the rest of the way and knocked on the door. I was majorly uncomfortable here. It was like the memories haunted the place, and the very walls taunted me to my wits end.

The door opened and I looked up at a very confused Loren.

"Zoey?" He asked. I knew he could feel my discomfort and pain. "What are you doing here?"

On cue, Mack reached for him.

"Daddy! Daddy!" I smiled at her as he took her from me.

"'Just wanna see daddy, just wanna see daddy'." I said, repeating Mack's words. "If she says those words one more time I think I just might explode." I eyed Mack. "_Total_ daddy's girl."

He grinned down at her and kissed her forehead. She clung to him, a beautiful smile on her face. I bit my lip, keeping myself from bolting.

"Are you okay, Zoey?" He finally asked. He knew I wasn't.

"Um... you think she could stay with you for the night?" I asked.

"Sure. Why?" He asked. I was getting antsy and couldn't stay still.

"She wants to be with you but I need to be..." I trailed off.

"Somewhere else?" He finished, his eyes sad and knowing. I nodded. He smiled. "Go on. She'll be fine." I nodded and kissed Mack on the cheek.

"Be good. Don't drive daddy insane." I said quickly before I nearly ran out of there. I leaned back against the wall that surrounded the House.

"It seems that we always meet here." A familiar voice said, amused. I looked up from my place on the ground to the face of Aphrodite's hot Warrior, Darius.

"Hey Darius." I sighed, sounding miserable.

"Is all well with you?" He asked. I nodded then bit my lip.

"No. I just... you know that one time, a long time ago, where we first met here?" I asked. He nodded. "And I was crying and looked, well, horrible?" He nodded again. "Well, Darius... I gotta story for ya." I said with a wry smile.

And so I told him. And I told him everything, not just the story I told my friends. I told him why and exactly what happened.

"So... he's the father?" He said slowly. I nodded.

"Please don't tell anyone." I blurted. He looked at me in disbelief.

"I'm not ready for them to know yet. I just... I can't..." I trailed off, tears in my eyes.

"You're afraid they'll hate you again and you can't deal with that pain." He said. I blinked at him.

"And you know that how?" I asked. He smiled sadly.

"I've never been what you've been through, Zoey." He said. "But I do know that what you've been through was traumatic. It is one of those things where, if you do live through it the first time, you would not be able to live through it a second time." He paused, then added, "I will not tell. You need to wait until you are ready for others to know." I smiled, relieved, and hugged him.

"Thank you, Darius. Aphrodite is truly lucky to have you as hers." I said warmly. His eyes sparkled at that and I grinned. "And it seems that she knows it, too. You've changed her, Darius." I paused and added, "And it's way super freaky." He laughed softly and stood.

"Are you coming, Zoey?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I'm... I'm going to spend some time with my... with my family." I said. He smiled and nodded before he left. I stood and took a deep breath.

"Why are you such a baby, Zoey Redbird?" I scolded myself. "You've faced evil undead fledglings, an evil, psycho High Priestess, and an evil fallen immortal. You can handle this one bad thing. And it's not even bad." I bit my lip and made my way back to the Loft. I knocked on the door again and smiled sheepishly at Loren's amused expression.

"Zoey?" He asked.

"Mommy!" Mack smiled her "princess" smile.

"I'm here to spend time with my family." I said quietly. I could feel his shock and I rolled my eyes.

"Shouldn't be too shocking. I mean, except for that fact that I'm _here_, it's pretty normal for me." I said. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to his side, and shut the door behind us. I leaned against him with a sigh.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Mack nearly yelled. I looked at her.

"What, Mack?" I asked wearily.

"Where's my purple pony? I need my purple pony. I want my purple pony." She whined. I groaned.

"Not this again. Mack." I took a deep breath. "You don't have a purple pony. You lost the last one I gave you about a week ago." I prepared myself for screaming... but it didn't come. I blinked at her.

"You're not screaming." I said bluntly.

"Daddy's here." She said. He laughed almost silently and I glared at him. He shrugged.

"Okay. No more Aphrodite for you." I said.

"But I love Aphrodite." She cried. She gave me her puppy dog face and I bit my lip, shaking my head. Her eyes were smoldering and I groaned.

"I'll be right back." I moaned.

"I do that all the time." I heard Mackenzie whisper.

"Really?" Loren asked.

"Yes. Really." I said, the aggravation seeping through.

I quickly made my way to the tunnels.

"Kramisha!" I nearly screamed.

"Holy Mother of Nyx, Zoey!" Kramisha exclaimed. "What the hell is the matter with you. Most of us are asleep right about now." I nodded.

"I need a purple pony for Mack." She put her hands on her hips.

"You know she's just gonna lose it, right?" She said wryly. I nodded.

"I know. But... she wants her purple pony." I said, biting my lip.

"She gave you the face, didn't she." I groaned.

"Yes. And I couldn't exactly say no. The only reason she didn't scream was because "daddy's here"." I repeated Mack. I heard Aphrodite laugh.

"No more visitation for you, Aphrodite LaFont. My child is not going to be some smart ass bitch from Hell." I said firmly. She snorted.

"She's _your_ daughter. There's no way that's even possible." She said. I sighed and Kramisha handed me a spare purple pony.

"Where'd you get this anyways?" I asked.

"Girrrrl, we gotta whole room filled with purple ponies." She said. I was still laughing as I left the tunnels...

… And running straight into Neferet.

"Oh. Hey." I said blandly, making my way to the Poet's Loft.

"And where do you think you're going, Redbird?" She asked, grabbing me by the wrist. I showed her the purple pony.

"I have to get this to Mackenzie... _before_ she has a fit." I said. "So unless you want every window of the House of Night shattered into a billion pieces, I suggest you let go of me." She hesitantly let me go and I quickly went on my way.

I handed Mack the purple pony and she grinned.

"Thank you mommy!" She sang. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Uh-huh." I said. "Mack, we can't stay all night."

"Why?" They asked at the same time. I rolled my eyes at Loren.

"Neferet's back." I said. Mack's eyes widened and she reached for me. I took her from Loren and she hid behind my hair. I sighed and nodded.

"Well, I guess we could just keep you there." I said with a laugh. I then had an idea. I looked back at Loren, a sly smile on my face. "Hey, Mackenzie? Daddy could come with us down in the tunnels." His eyes widened and he shook his head. She gasped and looked at Loren.

"Could you, daddy? Could you really?" She asked, her eyes big and pleading. Oh, she was one step away from The Face.

"I, uh..." He looked at me for help and I shook my head, my smile turning smug. "I can't, Mack. The Red fledglings don't like me very much." Mack sighed and looked at me.

"I can't ask him anymore. That's a good excuse. Dang him." She pouted. I gaped at her.

"How is _that_ a good excuse?" I asked.

"The Red fledglings could eat him." She said. Oh. That was a good excuse... except...

"No. They won't. They just don't like him. They won't touch him because they know I won't allow it. And Stevie Rae won't either. Plus," I grinned at Loren. "They don't eat people anymore." Oh. I was _so_ winning.

Mackenzie smiled at me then gave Loren The Face full on.

"Please, daddy. For me?" She pleaded, her voice like an angel. I grinned, trying not to laugh. He sighed.

"Fine. I'll come." She slapped her hands and hugged him before leaning back against me. She looked at me.

"Well, come on mommy!" She said patting my cheek. "Start walking. How else am I supposed to get there?" Loren laughed, hugging me and Mack. I bit my lips to keep from laughing.

"What the hell is going on here?" The voice sent chills down my spine, making me shiver in terror. I slowly turned.

Neferet's eyes were a smoldering red as she glared at Loren. I snarled as she took a step forward. I felt Mack trembling. Neferet made her way towards us. I saw something glimmer in her hand and was shocked to find a knife there. I gave Mackenzie to Loren and stood in front of them.

"Don't even think about it, Bitch." I snarled. She smiled evilly and I saw the Darkness around her swarm. It was literally everywhere.

It was then that I knew someone was going to die. What made it worse was that I knew it was going to be one of us, not her.

I took a deep breath and lunged at her. I grabbed the hand that had the knife and twisted it until I heard a snap. She hissed but continued to attack.

By then, I wasn't really there. My instincts were in control, not me. I suddenly felt a sharp pain. It was so painful and so intense that I couldn't breathe. I remember falling to the floor and the scent of blood.

My blood.

I looked up at Neferet. She wore a cruel, victorious smile. Her eyes were shining with victory and triumph.

"I'll come back for you, Tsi Sgili." I whispered. "To that I swear." I fell to the floor... and my soul left my body.

**I know it's shorter than the rest but it's my sister's birthday today! So... I'll make the next one longer and I'll give you two chapters. R&R. ~Jessica Baylin **


	5. Death: Come Back to Me

**Heyyyy. Sorry it's been so long. Here's your next chapter. **

**Inspiration: Since You've Been Gone Kelly Clarkson **

Chapter Five

~_Death_~

_Come Back to Me_

_Zoey_

Darkness. That's all I saw. I was surrounded by it. I didn't know where I was or where I was going. I suddenly felt something wrap around my ankles. I tried to scream but nothing came out.

It caressed me as it slowly made it's way up my legs. I shivered, telling myself that it was of repulsion, as it caressed my most sensitive spot. It continued upward, wrapping around my waist, tightening around me.

And, suddenly, it wasn't there anymore. I felt a hand caress my cheek. I automatically leaned into it.

There was a soft laugh. It was all too familiar. I gasped and tried to pull away.

Her other arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me to her. Her hand slid down my neck, creating powerful sensations throughout my body.

Her figure slowly appeared, a warm smile on her face. Her arm tightened around me as her hand caressed me, slowly making its way down my body, tracing every curve. I was confused as all hell.

"Zoeybird," She said softly. "You need to wake up. For your lover and daughter are waiting for you." I just blinked at her, and she smiled warmly. She pressed her lips against mine. I was frozen.

She pulled away, the smile still on her face. Her other arm wrapped around me as she pulled me close to her perfect body. She pressed her lips to mine again.

I was confused and stunned and frozen to the core. But, somehow, I found my way out.

I slowly raised my arms and gently pushed her away.

"What the hell," was all I was able to get out. She laughed again.

"There is no explaining. You will have to find out on your own." She said. She kissed me again before pulling away. "But, for now, you need to rest." She slowly, as if giving me time to pull away, brought her lips to mine again.

And, suddenly, I wanted her. I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss.

This was crazy. I wasn't gay. I wasn't bisexual either. Not that I had anything against them. It's just that I definitely wasn't gay.

But, as I pressed myself against her, my mouth moving against hers, I started to question myself. Her hands move lower and she pulled my hips to hers. I moaned. She pulled away after a long while, breathing heavily. She leaned her forehead against mine.

"You must wake, Zoeybird." She whispered.

"How?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. Her eyes softened.

"Follow your heart." She said softly. I pulled away.

"Of course," I said, rolling my eyes, a smile on my face. "My goddess."

And the darkness faded away, along with her. The last to disappear were her eyes, warm and gentle, as they stayed glued to mine.

And then she was gone, replaced by the unbearable brightness of Light.

"Zoey! Zoey please!" I heard a voice sobbing. I knew the voice, but I couldn't quite place the face and name that went to it.

"Mommy! Mommy!" That voice, I would know anywhere.

"Mack... Mack..." I tried to say, but it just came out as a sigh.

"Zoey!" I felt an electric shock go through me and I gasped very softly. "Please, Zoey," the familiar voice whispered again. "Please wake up."

I tried. I honestly did. But it was just so _hard_. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't do _anything_.

"Please. Come back to me." His voice was broken and filled with agony. And, suddenly, I knew who he was.

"Loren..." I was shocked to find that the words left my mouth in a soft breath.

"Zoey!" I groaned and turned my head towards his voice. He gently caressed my cheek. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at him.

"I'm really hard to kill, love." I said, smiling weakly. He smiled through his tears and kissed me once more. I moaned softly and reached up, wrapping my arm around his neck, and pulled him closer. I felt him smile against my lips and I heard a faint, "ew," whispered from my little Mackenzie.

I pulled away, a smile on my face, and looked at Mackenzie. She sat next to Loren, sitting on her feet, tears falling down her face. I opened my arms to her and she threw herself in them.

"I was so scared, mommy." She whispered. I felt tears in my eyes as I looked up at Loren.

"I know, baby. So was I." I whispered back at her. I pulled away to look at her face.

"It's late. Go on to bed." I said softly. I kissed her forehead softly. She smiled, wiped her tears away, and laid on Loren's bed.

"I'm sleeping with you two tonight." She said. "So no bad things will come to me." I smiled sadly and nodded.

I slowly sat up, Loren helping me. I leaned against him.

"I need to tell you something. In private." I whispered to him. He nodded. He lifted me off the floor and took me over to the bed.

"Mackenzie, can you go in the kitchen please? Your mother and I need to talk about boring grown up stuff." He said, trying not to smile. Mackenzie nodded and jumped off the bed. She ran towards the kitchen before she stopped.

"But, daddy? Next time you need to talk about stuff that I can't know, just tell me." She said before she left. I laughed softly, wincing when it caused a stabbing pain in my stomach— no pun intended.

"What's wrong?" Loren asked. I ran a hand through my hair, shocked when I saw blood on my hand and down along my arm. I looked down at myself and groaned.

"Ew. So unattractive." I said. Loren rolled his eyes.

"You were just stabbed and all you care about is how you look?" He said. He brought his lips to mine and I nearly forgot what I was supposed to be telling him. I wrapped my arm around his neck, pulling him to me. He pulled away, shaking his head.

"You're way too hurt for that." He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"I saw Nyx." I said slowly. He nodded for me to go on. "She, uh, well..." I bit my lip, not knowing how to tell him.

"What? What'd she do?" He asked, concerned. I closed my eyes and laid back on the bed.

"She kissed me." I said, my tone thoughtful. He was silent for a long time.

"When you say kiss...?" I sighed.

"I mean full on. Like the way you kiss me." I paused. "Except yours are hot and make my head feel like its going to explode." I opened my eyes to see his face. I bit my lip as I felt my face heat up. "Don't let it go to your head."

He just laughed. I silently called the elements to me, asking for them to heal me. I gasped as I felt the pain disappear. I smiled and silently thanked my goddess.

I rolled my eyes when I saw Loren grinning down at me.

He was suddenly hovering over me.

"Ew." I heard Mack say. I looked over at her. She looked at us in disgust. She pointed towards the door as she headed for it.

"I'm just gonna find Stevie Rae. I'll stay with them while you do... that." She said before she nearly ran for the door.

I rolled my eyes and looked up at Loren. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his lips down to mine. He pulled away after just a second. I whimpered. He smiled and caressed my cheek.

"Tell me what you want." He whispered against my lips. I moaned softly.

"I want you, Loren." I said, my tone pleading. I felt him smile against my lips before he kissed me again.

"Show me." He whispered. I flipped us over, suddenly hovering over him.

I kissed him as hard as I could, moving again him. His hands roamed my body before they rested on my hips. He gently pushed me away. Still straddling him, I raised the upper half of my body off his body.

He slowly pulled my shirt off, throwing it somewhere on the floor.

He ran his hands along my body again and I moaned. He sat up. He slowly stripped me of my jeans. His lips were on my neck and I couldn't stop the slow moan that escaped my lips.

"I love you." I breathed dreamily. He pulled away to look at my face. He ran his fingertips over my lips. I shivered and he smiled.

"My Zoey." He breathed. He brushed his lips against mine. "My beautiful Zoey." I felt heat rising up in my cheeks.

His hands rested on my hips as he kissed me. They tightened around me when I moaned. He pulled away and, instead, kissed my neck. I leaned my head back slightly as he kissed every inch of my neck.

"How much do you want this, Zoey?" He whispered against my neck. I moaned as his hands pushed down the waistband of my underwear.

"Please. I need you." I gasped. He pushed them down and he threw them on the floor with the rest of my clothes. He ran his hand over me and I moaned. He brought his lips back to mine as he slowly, rhythmically, rubbed his hand over me.

"So wet." He murmured against my lips.

He unclasped my bra and threw it on the floor. His hands roamed every inch of my body. He gently laid me back on the bed and quickly stripped down.

He laid down on top of me.

I wrapped my legs around his waist. He slowly entered me and I moaned. He moved slowly at first before he went faster. I met his thrusts with my own, moaning every time he hit that special spot inside of me.

It wasn't long before I reached my peak. I moaned, throwing my head back. He brought his lips back to mine.

It was the type of kiss that kids shouldn't see. No, it was the type of kiss that no one should see.

When he pulled away, he grinned down at me. I bit my lip.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" He teased. I rolled my eyes and pushed him off of me.

"You are such a smart-ass." I said, snuggling up against him. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him.

"You know you love me." He said.

"Mmm. Maybe." I said, a smile on my face. I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes.

"Sleep, love." He whispered, running a hand through my hair.

"I love you." I sighed heavily.

"I love you, too, my beautiful Zoey." I heard him say before sleep took over.

"Zoey." A familiar voice said. I turned around and came face-to-face with my goddess, Nyx. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me to her.

"I'm... confused." I said honestly. She smiled before she kissed me softly.

"Why are you confused, Zoeybird?" She asked with a small laugh. She kissed me again, this time deeper, longer... hotter. I gently pushed her away.

"Why... why did you kiss me? Why are you kissing me?" I blurted. She looked thoughtful.

"I don't know exactly how to explain it, Zoeybird." She said. She went to kiss me again but I pulled away. I took a few steps away from her.

"Okay, uh... I'm a girl. You're a girl. I didn't think you rolled that way. And, uh... quite frankly, I don't." I whispered the last part. Though, it wasn't particularly true. She was irresistible. But it had only started when she had first kissed me. She looked hurt and I bit my lip.

"Uh... okay, uh... I'm just confused." I finally got out. She slowly took a step towards me. When I didn't back away, she continued towards me. I eyed her warily. She slowly reached up and caressed my cheek.

"I love you, Zoeybird." She whispered. That was it for me. I jerked away and back far away from her.

"Uh... I wanna wake up. I want to wake up _now_!" I said frantically. Things slowly started to fade. I noticed a single tear fall down her face and I immediately felt like shit. I sighed and held up a hand for her to stop.

"Stay over there, don't move, don't say a word." I said, not looking at her. I started pacing from my little bubble. I ran a hand through my hair, stopped, and looked at her.

"Why... how... _what_?" I stumbled out.

"I love you." She whispered again. I shook my head.

"No. You can't love me. Not like that. What about Erebus?" I exclaimed.

"Erebus knows. And... he knows about my love for him... fading." She barely whispered the last word. I didn't know I was moving, but I suddenly found myself right in front of her. I cocked my head to the side.

"You love me... as in I wanna fuck you... your love for Erebus, your Eternal Consort, is fading...?" She slowly nodded. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I slowly opened my eyes with a sigh.

"And what exactly am I supposed to tell Loren?" I asked. "And everybody else?"

"The truth." She said simply. I just blinked at her.

"Are you serious?" I exclaimed. She winced slightly. "Tell every-damn-body that the Goddess of Night is in love with me, a fledgling. Yeah. That'll go over _real_ well."

"Zoey, Zoey, Zoey. Calm down." She whispered, grabbing me by the tops of my arms. I sighed and looked back at her. She slowly let her hands slide down my arms, wrapping them around my waist once again.

"I know you are confused, Zoeybird. But... do you feel anything?" She asked. She tightened her arms around me. I bit my lip and looked down. I slowly wrapped one arm around her neck, caressing her cheek with my other hand.

I slowly brought my lips to hers. Our lips moved in sync. I pressed her again one of the giant oak trees.

I heard someone clear their throat. I immediately jerked away from Nyx.

I felt my face heat up as I saw who it was. I bowed my head respectively at Nyx's Consort, Erebus.

"Zoey." He nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Uh... this isn't awkward at all." I said with a nervous laugh. Nyx laughed as she wrapped her arms around me, laying her head on my shoulder. I felt my face getting hotter by the minute.

"I need to speak with you, Nyx. Alone." He said. I pulled away from Nyx's arms.

"No problem. I want to wake up. I'm confused, tired, and I'm 99.9% sure that I'm on the brink of insanity." I said quickly. Nyx smiled sadly before everything started to disappear.

I shot up in the bed, gasping for breath.

"Zoey? What's wrong?" Loren asked, his arms finding their way around me. I turned my head to look up at him.

"She... she told me she loves me." I said.

**Aaaand there's your chapter. Hope you liked it. I even wrote the sex scene. REVIEW! Even if you hated it. Just review. PLEASE. Thank you. LOLZ. _~Jessica Baylin~_**


	6. She Said WHAT?

**Heyyyy, Jessica Baylin here. So... I need more reviews. If I don't get five more, you get no more chapters. It isn't that hard. I review every story/fanfic that I read. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. So, READ and REVIEW!**

Chapter Six

~_She Said What_~

_Zoey_

"Wait... What!" He stuttered. I looked away from him.

"She... she said she... l-loves me." I whispered. His arms tightened around me.

"What are you going to do?" He whispered. I shrugged.

"I've no idea." I murmured.

"Well... I think you know who to talk to." He said, a knowing smiled on his face. I nodded, kissed him softly, and quickly got dressed. I left, taking slow, deep breaths.

I slowed when I saw him, his back towards me.

"I will not let her come between us again." Neferet's voice made me freeze.

"There is no us, Neferet." His voice was cold and hard.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Her voice was impossibly colder.

"I mean, there is no us. There never was an us. I love her." Neferet held up a hand.

"I understand that you love A-ya, but Zoey is never going to give into you."

"I do not give a damn about A-ya, Neferet." Kalona said. "I love and want Zoey. And I will Have her if it's the last thing I do." I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped my lips. They immediately turned towards me. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out.

"I... I... I need to t-talk to you." I said, my eyes going to Kalona before immediately reverting them to the floor.

"Whatever you say to him, you can say in front of me." Neferet hissed. I looked up at her and snarled, baring my teeth. She narrowed her eyes at me and I saw Darkness pulse around her. Sticky strands of it came towards me. I cocked my head to the side as I called Darkness to me. I held my arm out before I flicked my fingers out towards her.

She fell to the ground with a piercing scream. I called it back to me.

She stood before she immediately ran away, leaving a shocked and stunned Kalona behind. I shook the Darkness off of me, calling Light to protect me.

I made my way over to Kalona.

"So," I said, crossing my arms across my chest. "You love... me?" A slow smile spread across his face and I felt my heart skip a beat. I slowly stepped into his arms, lying my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him.

"Oh, I love you so much, my Zoey." He whispered. He pulled away to look at my face. He pushed back a strand of hair that covered my hair behind my ear. "My beautiful Zoey."

I bit my lip, feeling the familiar blush rise to my cheeks.

"I need to tell you something." I said quietly. "Something really important."

"And what would that be, Zoeybird?" He asked. I took a deep breath.

"Nyx kissed me and told me she loved me." I blurted out. He tensed and I cringed.

"Explain." He said. I felt her presence and immediately turned in Kalona's arms. She smiled warmly at me and I instantly went into her arms.

"how and what do I tell him?" I asked. She smiled softly and, glancing up at him, kissed me. I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around her, and kissed her hard. Her arms went around me, pulling me closer. I pulled away after a while, gasping for air.

"My Zoeybird." She whispered before she disappeared. I slowly turned to Kalona, blinking through the haze Nyx always left me in.

"Well... that's one way of explaining it." I breathed. I went back into his arms, leaning against him.

"I love you, Kalona. I love Loren and Stark. But... I do love you." I looked up at him. "I'm in love with you. And nothing can change that." He smiled sadly before he, slowly, lowered his lips to mine. I pulled him to me, kissing him hard. I pulled away after a long while. I caressed his cheek. I let my fingertips brush over his lips, barely touching them.

"Goddess, I love you." I breathed before I pulled him to me again. He smiled against my lips. I smiled as I pulled away.

"Come, my Zoey." He murmured. I leaned against him as he led us to his room. I sat down on his bed and looked down at the floor, remembering why I had come to him in the first place. I bit my lip.

"What is wrong, my Zoey?" He asked, sitting down next to me. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to him. I sighed and pulled away. I looked up at him.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" I asked him. He looked genuinely confused. I sighed in annoyance.

"Nyx." I said, my voice harsher than intended. He winced slightly and I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I'm sorry. It's just... I'm confused as hell, and I'm really tired of my relationships problems." I looked back up at him. "Do you know how many boyfriends I've had since I've been Marked?" He looked amused at this and I glared.

"Heath, Erik, Loren, Stark..." I paused, looking at him. "And that's not even the half of it. I have turned into such a slut." I put my face in my hands. Why me? Why was it always me? Kalona wrapped his arms around me.

"You're not a slut, Zoey. You are anything but." He said softly. I smiled sadly.

"I was Imprinted with Heath while I was going out with Erik. I cheated on Erik." He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I can see how you would find that... whoreish, but it was not your fault that you Imprinted with the human boy." He said. I cringed slightly.

"Yeah," I dragged the word out. "I slept with Loren while I was going out with Erik." Kalona just stared at me before he laughed. I scowled.

"It's not funny. Erik caught us." I said, suddenly pissed. I think he knew that I was, because he suddenly stopped laughing. He looked at me, concerned.

"Are you okay, Zoey?" He asked, caressing my cheek. I leaned into him, closing my eyes. I sighed heavily before opening my eyes.

"What do you think?" I asked. He smiled sadly before he kissed me softly. I moaned quietly before he pulled away.

"I don't know what to tell you, Zoey." He said. I knew he didn't like saying that. He was immortal. He was supposed to know everything. For some reason, it made me smile.

"What?" I shook my head.

"It's just... you've never said that before. You're all _I'm immortal and I know everything_." I said simply.

"Well, when you've been alive for as long as I have, you tend to know a lot more than everyone else." He said, getting defensive. I nodded, still laughing a bit.

"Yeah. Okay, love. Whatever helps you sleep at night." I said. He grinned.

"What was that?" He asked in a teasing tone. I eyed him.

"What was what?" I asked warily.

"Love?" He asked. I rolled my eyes and laid back on the bed.

"What about it?" I asked, closing my eyes, folding my hands across my stomach.

"I have been trying to get you to come to me for years, Zoey. Years." He said. I opened my eyes. He was lying right next to me. He ran his fingertips up and down my arm, barely brushing against my skin. He smiled down at me, confusion in his eyes. "What made you come to me now?"

I looked back up at the ceiling.

"It's really quite simple, love." I said. "For years, ever since you had been released, it was all about getting A-ya and ruling the world. For years that was all you wanted; all you were focused on. But..." I looked at him. "That's not what you want anymore." I sat up, crossing my legs Indian style. I took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh.

"With you, it was all about A-ya. And to get to her, you needed me to give into you." I stated. "But... that scared me. Just the fact that I was A-ya reincarnate scared me stiff. Hell, you scared me. But... it wasn't really _you_ that scared me. A-ya didn't scare me. What scared me was the undeniable love and lust and desire I felt for you. I didn't even know you and I already felt that for you. I didn't want it. It scared me." I bit my lip, looking down at my hands.

"I think what scared me the most, for a little while, was the fact that you could get into my dreams. It was like... no matter how hard I tried to stay away from you, it was never enough. You were everywhere. And... there was a little voice in the back of my head telling me to just... give in. That there was a reason why I couldn't get away." I finally decided to looked up. I met his gaze and the rest came pouring out.

"When you killed Heath... I felt nothing but hate for you. I thought you could be saved... but that thought, that belief, immediately disappeared." I saw pain in his eyes when I mentioned his killing of Heath. "When I was in the Otherworld, I wasn't me. I mean, I was but I was missing... something. And then I saw them. Pieces of me. Parts of me. There was a young girl, mini-me as I called her. She was my joy. Brighid, she looked nothing like me except for the eyes. She was my strength." I took a deep breath. "And then there was my compassion. I knew her immediately. And I hated her. I hated her so much. She had ruined everything. She had caused this horrible thing to happen. She was the reason why my friends thought I was insane." I smiled softly. "But she was none of those things, in the end. She's my compassion. I had compassion for you because of her. I didn't trust you because of her, as I had thought."

"Who was she?" Kalona asked. I grinned.

"My sister. A-ya." I said softly. I felt her leaping within me and I laughed very softly. "I hated her and told her I would never call her back to me. And that was the only way I would ever get back home. Was to accept all of me." I shook my head. "But I didn't want her. She just created problems. She made it even harder to resist you. To hate you. But... I accepted her anyway. I needed her. You were fighting with Stark and... he's my everything. My heart, my soul. My Guardian." I looked back down at my hands, the smile never leaving my face.

"So... I accepted her. All of her, and everything that came with having her as a part of me." I bit my lip and look up, my eyes on Kalona.

"I have a hard time admitting things to myself." I said. "I had a hard time admitting to myself that I loved you. I didn't want to because, well, everyone thinks you're evil. Which, honestly, you kinda are." I smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"And... I had a hard time admitting it because... I didn't choose to love you. I didn't love you. It wasn't me. It was all A-ya. But... after a while... I found that... it wasn't just A-ya. It was me." I ran a hand through my hair. "It was a long time before I admitted that to myself. And it's still hard to tell myself now." I took a deep breath. "But I love you. And, no matter how wrong that is, I'll always love you." I bit my lip to keep from smiling as A-ya leaped inside me yet again.

"But... that doesn't answer my question." Kalona said after a long moment of silence. "Why? Why now?"

I didn't answer for a long time. I didn't really have an answer. No. I had one... I just... couldn't admit it yet. Yes, I had told him I loved him and always would. So... this shouldn't be so bad, right? Wrong. I couldn't even think of the answer. It wasn't that it was embarrassing or anything like that. It was just... I couldn't. I just... couldn't.

I looked at Kalona then. I looked away with a shrug. He sat up and wrapped his arms back around me.

"Zoey." He whispered. I still didn't look at him and his arms tightened. "Zoey. Look at me. Please."

I shook my head, causing my hair to fall, covering half of my face.

Kalona kissed my neck and I shivered very slightly.

"Please. I need to see you." He murmured. "My beautiful, beautiful, Zoey." I felt my face heat up and I bit my lip before I finally looked at him. He smiled softly before he kissed me. The kiss was soft and sweet and made my head spin. I sighed as he pulled away. He laid me back down on the bed, hovering over me. He brought his lips back down to mine. I moaned as he ran his hands down my body.

I pulled away after what seemed like forever. I gently pushed against his chest and he laid next to me, his arm draped over my stomach, pulling me closer to him. I rolled over onto my side, facing him. I rested my hand on his chest.

"I love you." I breathed. He kissed the filled-in crescent Mark on my forehead.

"I love you, too... my beautiful, Zoey." He whispered.

After about an hour, I looked up to see if Kalona was asleep. Sure enough, he was. I, very carefully, slid out from under his arm. I just stared at him for a while. I gently caressed his cheek. I leaned down to gently press my lips against his.

When I pulled away, his eyes opened.

"Because I love you too much." I breathed, my voice barely audible. He looked confused. "Because you love _me_." And, at that, I stood, and left.

I quickly made my way to the Poet's Loft. I slid inside, carefully shutting the door behind me. I slid in the bed and draped my arm over Loren.

"How'd it go?" He whispered. I looked at him and bit my lip. I nodded.

"Went well." I said softly. He narrowed his eyes at me and I smiled innocently. I kissed him before turned away from him. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him.

"You can't hide things from me, love." He murmured, kissing my neck. I moaned very softly. "What happened?"

"You know the answer to that." I whispered. He let go of me and sat up.

"Yes. I do. But I want to hear it from you." He said, smirking at me. I scowled.

"You are such an ass." I accused.

"You adore me, Zoey." He said, rolling his eyes. I just gaped at him. I shook my head.

"You've been hanging out with Stark _way_ too much." I said.

"Tell me, Zoey." He said with a smile. I bit my lip and shook my head. He pulled me into his arms so I was straddling him. His arms tightened around me. He kissed me softly, barely brushing his lips against mine.

I groaned.

"You're horrible." I whined before I kissed him, hard. He pushed me away, shaking his head, a smug smile on his face.

"Not until you tell me what happened." He said. I hissed under my breath.

"I heard him and Neferet talking, he said something about loving me, not A-ya. I told him I loved him and he kissed me. I went to his room, told him a bunch of stuff that I had just begun to admit to myself and then left." I said. He grinned.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked.

"It was horrible. Now kiss me." I said. He, happily, obliged.

I laid back against the bed, breathing heavily. Loren draped his arm over me.

"I love you." He said softly. I smiled and kissed him.

"I love you, too." I whispered against his lips.

"Did you ever get to talk to Kalona about Nyx?" Loren asked.

"No, I don't think we got to that." I said. HE sighed and shook his head.

"That's the whole reason you went to him." He groaned. I shrugged.

"Well... I kinda got... distracted." I said.

"Distracted. And by that you mean you were too busy sticking your tongue down his throat." He said, rolling his eyes. I snorted.

"And _we_ don't?" I asked. He eyed me.

"That's different." I nodded.

"Yeah. I didn't see that one coming." I said sarcastically.

"Okay, well... if you see Nyx again, which you most likely will, you tell me and then we'll both go to talk to the evil angel in the morning." He said.

"Night." I corrected.

"Haha." He said sarcastically. I laid my head on his chest, his arms around me, and soon fell asleep.

~_Another Dream_~

_Zoey_

"Zoey." I turned and went into the arms of my awaiting goddess. She kissed me softly before she pulled away. She had a knowing look on her face, and I bit my lip.

"I'm guessing you know about my little meeting with Kalona." I said. She nodded.

"I am very proud of you, Zoeybird. You finally admitted it to yourself." She said in approval. I rolled my eyes.

"It wasn't exactly easy." I mumbled. She laughed softly. She sat down, pulling me down with her. I laid may head on her shoulder, watching the river in front of us sparkle.

"Nyx?" I asked. "Isn't you loving me... I dunno... twisted?" I looked up to see the hurt on her face. "No. That's not what I mean. What I mean is... you're my goddess. And I am one of your children, your creation." She smiled and kissed me.

"My Zoeybird." She whispered. "I will not lie. Not many people will agree to this, for many reasons."

"One, we're both girls. And two, you're my goddess." I noted simply. She nodded.

"Exactly." She said, her eyes sad. I caressed her cheek.

"My goddess." I whispered. I brought my lips to hers. I suddenly felt a familiar presence.

"Zoey!" I pulled away from Nyx. She smiled and I turned towards to voice. I grinned and jumped up, running towards my sister.

"I heard everything, Zoey!" She squealed. I laughed and nodded.

"I know. I felt you." I said. She looked confused. "I felt you, like, leaping inside of me. What, did you have a party or something?" We both laughed and she shook her head.

"Something like that. And you finally told him that you loved him." She said dreamily. "So romantic." I could see her longing, her sadness, for him. She wanted him so much. She needed him. I bit my lip and looked at Nyx, asking. She smiled and nodded. I grinned.

"Hey, A-ya." I said. Her eyes flickered to mine. "What would you say if I told you you could come to earth... and see your fallen angel?" Her eyes widened.

"Really?" She whispered in awe. I nodded. "You are amazing, Zoey."

"Ah, you need to thank Nyx for this one." I said. "I wouldn't know how to bring you to earth if my life depended on it." She turned to Nyx and ran over to her. Nyx stood and hugged A-ya.

"Come on, A-ya. I can't wait!" I said, just as excited as she was. She ran over to me.

"You? What about me?" She exclaimed. I shrugged.

"We're the same person. The feeling's mutual." I said.

Everything suddenly disappeared and we were back in Loren's room. I gasped and sat up.

"Zoey?" I looked at Loren and grinned before I looked around the room, finding her instantly.

"Come on, Zoey. You can love your lover later. I don't know if I have a time limit and I don't wanna wait anymore!" Her voice turned into a whine and I laughed, sliding out of bed.

"Come on, you schizophrenic." I said, grabbing her hand and heading towards the door.

"Zoey, who is that?" Loren asked, confused.

"A-ya. My compassion. I'll explain later!" I called out as A-ya dragged me away. We practically ran to Kalona's room. I quietly knocked on the door. A-ya sighed impatiently. The door opened and A-ya immediately threw herself at him. Kalona looked at me in shock, which then turned to confusion.

"There is something missing from you, Zoey." He said. I grinned and nodded.

"Do you really not recognize me?" A-ya asked, the smile never leaving her face. Kalona then looked down at her. His eyes widened slightly before they found me asking the question he already the answer to. I nodded.

"My Warrior." A-ya whispered. Kalona wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. I swear I even saw a tear fall down his face.

I sniffled, wiping my tears away.

"It's so romantic." I said softly. They pulled away. A-ya laughed and looked at me.

"Stuff it, Redbird." She said. I laughed and hugged both of them.

"OMG!" I exclaimed. "I wonder how long you get to stay. I bet my friends would just love you."

She looked scared then.

"Um, Zoey? I was the reason why you couldn't resist him. I don't think they would like me very much. Especially Stark." She said quietly. I grinned and shook my head.

"No. Stark would hate you. But the others wouldn't mind so much. Especially if I tell them that if they hurt you they hurt me." I said pleasantly. She looked up at Kalona with wide, horror-struck, eyes. He chuckled and kissed her softly. It was amazing to see how one touch from him would calm her.

She immediately relaxed, melting in his arms.

"It's actually kind of sick." I said simply. They looked at me, confused. "Nothing." I looked at A-ya, waiting. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You get to see him all the time, Zoey. I only get to see him through you." She said, holding onto Kalona for dear life. "He's mine until I have to leave." I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Do you want me to tell Nyx that you're being selfish?" I asked. She bit her lip and, slowly, let Kalona go. I grinned at Kalona who looked like a little lost puppy.

"It's hard to explain, love." I saw the jealousy in A-ya's eyes and I rolled mine. I wrapped one arm around Kalona and the other around A-ya. "I love you guys so much."

"What about Brighid? And mini-me?" A-ya asked.

"Mini-me is... embarrassing. And Brighid is too... pushy." I said. She giggled and nodded.

"True, true." She said. She looked up at Kalona. "Zoey needs your help."

"Nyx is... I think she's delusional." I said honestly.

"I could have worded that better, Zoey." A-ya said. I shrugged. "She can hear you. And if you say something that hurts her feelings, she might make me go back." I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"She told me that she loves me and she kissed me... again. Not that I object or anything." I whispered the last part. Kalona looked vaguely amused by this, and I shrugged. "What? I feel... weird around her. I get all... tingly." A-ya rolled her eyes.

"What she's trying to say is that she has feelings for Nyx that she doesn't want to feel." She paused. "Kinda, sorta like she did with you."

"Yeah. What she said. Hey!" I exclaimed. "I do not have feelings for Nyx. I am a girl. I just... can't make myself tell her that I don't want her or love her like that." A-ya nodded.

"Yeah. Okay. Except for the fact that you do." She said. I sighed.

"I do not..." I sighed. "Stuff it A-ya." She pulled away and went over to Kalona's bed. She laid back on it with a sigh.

"How about this? I stay with Kalona, and you stay with Loren." She said. She looked at me. I shrugged.

"Fine with me. So long as you don't do anything..." I paused, looking for the word.

"Don't have sex with him. Got it." She said. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it, shaking my head.

"Yeah. Don't do that. Bye." I said. Kalona kissed me softly before he went over to the bed. He hovered over A-ya before he kissed her. I smiled before I shut the door.

I laid down next to Loren once more and immediately fell asleep.

I grinned when I felt her arms around me.

"Hello, Zoeybird." She whispered in my ear. I moaned as I turned in her arms. I wrapped my arms around her neck.

"My goddess." I whispered before she kissed me.

**Aaaand, there's your chapter. **

**I hope you liked it. REVIEW. It's not that hard people. LOLZ. _~Jessica Baylin~ _**


	7. Twisted Time to Tell & You're a Father

**Heyyyy. Jessica Baylin here. **

**Yeah, nothing much to say except...**

**HERE'S YOUR CHAPTER! And a LOOOONG one, too!**

**Inspiration: Kiss 'N' Tell Ke$ha **

Chapter Seven

~_Twisted_~

_Nyx_

"Hello, Zoeybird." I whispered in her ear. She moaned as she turned in my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck.

"My goddess." She whispered before I kissed her.

She moaned, her hands roaming up and down her body. I moaned as her hand rubbed over me. Her lips went to my neck. She suddenly froze, her breathing becoming slow and heavy, and I knew what she wanted. What she needed.

"Zoey." I whispered.

"I want it..." She breathed.

"Then take it." I whispered. She didn't hesitate. She latched onto me with a feral snarl. She moaned and I closed my eyes, arching my back. I tightened my arms around her, needing her closer.

I knew she needed to stop, but that she was having a hard time doing so.

"Zoey." I whispered. "Stop." She tensed, trying to pull away, but failed. I tried a different tactic.

_You can do this, Zoey. I know you can. You're stronger than this_. I felt her call the elements to help her and I smiled at my special little fledgling. Suddenly, she jerked away from me with a gasp, breathing fast and heavy.

I crawled over to the end of the bed and wrapped my arms around her and she flinched. She gently pushed me away. I felt the elements swirl around me, sealing the wound she had made shut. She sighed heavily as she laid back on the bed. I laid on top of her.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry." She whispered. I smiled softly, caressing her cheek.

"There is nothing to be sorry for, my Zoeybird." I said. She moaned as she pulled my lips down to hers.

She rolled us over so that she was on top of me. She slowly moved against me, as my hands moved all over her beautiful body. I moaned and she grinned down at me. I gasped as one of her fingers entered me. Her lips were on mine again as she pumped her fingers in and out. She suddenly added another and I moaned with her. I thrust my hips into her hand. She pulled her fingers out of me.

"I want you, Nyx." She whispered against my lips. I knew what she wanted and I pushed her away. We couldn't do this. As much I loved her and wanted her, this _was_ wrong.

"I can't." I whispered. Her eyes were pleading. "We can't." She got off of me, draping one arm around me. I wrapped my arms around her.

"Why?" She whispered. I kissed the crescent moon on her forehead.

"Because, as much as I love you, as much as I want you, this _is_ wrong." I said sadly. She groaned as she pulled the covers over us.

"No one has to know about it." She said. I smiled sadly.

"It is still wrong." I said. She laid her head on my collarbone. She ran her fingertips up and down my body, barely brushing over the skin there. I closed my eyes.

"I love you, Zoeybird." I whispered. She surprised me when she answered.

"I love you, too, Nyx." She said softly. "But... if you love me... and I love you... then why can't we? Why is it wrong?" She looked at me, tears in her eyes. I caressed her cheek.

"It just is, Zoeybird." I said.

"This sucks." She said.

"Yes, Zoeybird. It does." I sighed heavily. She snuggled closer to me and I tightened my arm around her. Her hands stopped just above my most sensitive spot.

"Is this okay?" She asked. I smiled and kissed her softly.

"More than okay." I murmured against her lips. She continued downward. I moaned as she rubbed over me again. "Zoey." I groaned. She brought her hand back up. She continued and I sighed happily. She suddenly stopped and sat up. I looked up at her.

"What is wrong, Zoeybird?" I asked. She narrowed her eyes in concentration.

"I need to go." She said. "Everyone's trying to wake me up." I nodded, a smile on my face. She brought her lips to mine and I moaned.

"I'm not leaving until I get one thing." She said, a sly smile on her face.

"Zoey. We can't." I said. She shook her head.

"I know." She said. She kissed me once more as her hand found my wet center. I moaned and she smiled against my lips. I let my hand fall from around her neck, down to her ripping wet core. I rubbed my hand over her, earning a moan.

I moaned as we both reached our peak. She pulled away, a grin on her face.

"I love you." She said before she slowly disappeared.

"I love you, too, my Zoeybird." I whispered, knowing she would hear me. I quickly got dressed and left my room.

**Inspiration: Kiss 'N' Tell Ke$ha & Your Love is My Drug Ke$ha**

~_Time to Tell_~

~_You're a Father_~

_Zoey_

"Goddess, Z!" Aphrodite exclaimed. "You sleep freakishly like the dead."

"I hate to agree, but," Shaunee started.

"She totally has a point." Erin finished.

"Die Dorkamese Twins." Aphrodite snapped. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Loren laughed, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned back against him.

"You actually let them in?" I asked. He laughed.

"Like I had a choice." He said. I giggled.

"Hey Shaunee. Erin." I said. They eyed me warily. "You didn't try anything with him, did you?" They glared at me and I smiled.

"Not," Shaunee hissed.

"Funny," Erin continued.

"Zoey." They both snarled. I just shook my head. Aphrodite sighed in annoyance and threw some clothes at me.

"Hurry up, and get dressed. We have to come up with a plan to destroy Bird Boy and his companion, Queen Bitch." I couldn't help but laugh at that. Even the Twins had a hard time keeping the grins off their faces.

"Aphrodite, where do you come up with some of the things you say?" Loren asked. She raised a brow at him. I raised my hand slightly.

"My fault." I said sheepishly. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Well, if you must know, I get my inspiration and creativity from dicks like you." I sighed in exasperation.

"Can't go a day without an insult." I mumbled. She snorted.

"Of course not. Insults are my specialty." She said before she turned on her heel and twitched away.

"I swear if she twitches her butt anymore she;s gonna break something." I said. The Twins busted out laughing. Stark grinned and winked at me.

I quickly got dressed and brushed my teeth and hair.

"Come on Zoey!" The Twins screamed. I ran out of my bathroom and grinned.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." I said calmly. They studied me before nodding in approval.

"Aphrodite actually might be useful for something." They said.

"Hey! I know how to dress myself." I said.

"Used to." Shaunee corrected.

"Ever since you had Mack you've been dressing all..." Erin looked at her twin for help.

"Appropriate." She said with a shudder. Erin nodded, disgust written all over her face. I looked over at the confused Loren.

"It's the Twins, babe. What do you expect?" I asked with a shrug. The Twins' mouths fell to the floor.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Did you just call him," Erin started. I immediately knew where this was going.

"Babe? Yeah. I did. Got a problem?" I asked with a small smile. Still stunned, they shook their heads. Just then, Damien and Jack walked in, along with Erik and Aphrodite. Perfect timing, too. Ugh. I really didn't want to do this.

"Okay... um... new problem." Aphrodite said, confused. "Like, Bird Boy has a new puppet. And..." She trailed off.

"She looks exactly like you." Damien said. I grinned and nodded.

"That would be A-ya. Nyx let her come to earth without physically or spiritually hurting me." I explained. The Twins started coughing.

"We are choking on shock here." Shaunee said.

"Seriously. First you and Loren, now this." Erin agreed. I grinned.

"Well, there's more. I'm totally in love with Kalona, and Nyx and I have been making out." I said. They all gaped at me. Even Aphrodite's mouth fell open. Darius blinked at me, stunned. I grinned.

"So... what's next?" I asked.

"Uh... Z?" Erin started.

"Did you just say," Shaunee said.

"What I think you said?" Erin finished.

"That would be a yes." I said, dragging the words out. I looked at Loren who had begun to crack up. "What's so funny, Lover Boy?"

"Do you not see their faces? It's hilarious." He said. I then looked back at me friends. I looked at Erik and laughed.

"Yeah. Yeah they are." I agreed. He looked shocked and down right confused.

"You and... Nyx?" He blurted. I nodded.

"I think you've gone insane." Stark said bluntly. My grin faded instantly.

"Well, tough shit." I said darkly.

"Zoeybird, calm down." A familiar voice said. The others gasped at the sight of our goddess. I smiled and went into her arms. She kissed me softly.

"I guess that's one way of proving it." I murmured against her lips. She kissed me once, twice, three more times before she pulled away. I took a few steps away from her, but remained close.

"Wait... but... she's... and you... and..." Erin didn't seem to be able to make a coherent sentence, so Shaunee decided to help out.

"What!" She nearly yelled.

"I love her. She loves me. End of story." I said calmly.

"But you're a girl... and she's a girl..." Erin trailed off, looked confused. She groaned, grasping her head. "My brain hurts!" Shaunee nodded sympathetically and wrapped an arm around her Twin.

"What the fucking hell!" Aphrodite blurted. "No damn way! I already have to put up with Gay Boy and Techno Geek. I can not put up with anymore gays. Two is enough."

"Well, tough shit." I said pleasantly. I took Nyx's hand in mine, just as Kalona and A-ya came in. To say Kalona seemed shocked would be a massive understatement. Everything got really tense then.

"Um... this is awkward." I said.

"Stating the obvious." Aphrodite said with a nervous laugh.

"Uh... we're gonna... go..." Shaunee said. The Twins quickly left along with the others. Stark, Damien, Jack and Kalona were the only ones who stayed. And A-ya, of course. She smiled and nodded her head at Nyx.

"Nyx." She said.

"A-ya. Are you enjoying your time on earth?" She asked warmly. A-ya nodded eagerly.

"I love it here!" She exclaimed. I grinned.

"Yeah. Wait until you have to help me with my guy problems." I glanced at Nyx. "And girl problems. The more the merrier." Loren chuckled and I glared at him. He raised his hands up in surrender.

"Uh... I'm guessing Zoey was right about the whole fallen warrior of Nyx thing." Stark said. Nyx nodded.

"Yes. She was." She said. Stark bit his lip and wouldn't meet my gaze.

"Well, I feel like shit." He said quietly. I smiled softly a went over to him. I wrapped my arms around him, lying my head on his chest.

"Don't." I whispered for him alone. I turned in his arms, leaning against him.

"Kalona. It has been so long since I have really seen you." Nyx said. Her voice was hard and firm. It was nothing like her at all. He flinched and nodded.

A-ya kissed him softly before she made her way over to where Stark and I stood. Loren slowly made his way over to us.

"What the hell?" He asked me.

"Long story." I whispered. He nodded and glanced at Stark. I saw a familiar gleam in his eyes and I sighed in exasperation. I stepped out of Stark's arms and hugged Loren.

"I love you." I whispered. "But he is my everything. He is my soul. My heart." I smiled at Stark. "My Guardian." He smiled smugly at Loren and I glared at him. He looked back at me and looked down at the floor.

"Um... we have to go." Jack said. Damien looked at him, confused. "We have to... do something." Damien caught on quickly and nodded. They nearly bolted out and I tried not to laugh.

I made my way over to Nyx.

"You need to talk to him, my goddess. Things will never be resolved until you do." I whispered in her ear. She sighed and nodded. She wrapped an arm around me and I hugged her back. I took her hand in mine and squeezed it before I let go. I looked at the others and nodded towards the door for them to come on.

They followed me out but Loren hesitated.

"Please, do not destroy anything." He said. He quickly made his way back over to me and I shook my head.

"What? The Goddess of Night and her fallen immortal warrior in the same room?" He shook his head. "That has bad idea written all over it." I laughed and leaned against him.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I immediately crouched down and opened my arms. She threw herself at me and I let myself fall over. I laughed.

"You're getting strong, Lil' Mack." I said. She giggled into her hand.

"Look mommy! It's Nyx!" She nearly screamed. She wiggled in my arms. "I love you mommy. But I wanna see Nyx." She said calmly. I nodded.

"I know, Mackenzie. But Nyx and Kalona need to talk. Alone." I said firmly. She sighed. "Yeah. You'll just have to deal with me and daddy." I said. She grinned.

"Yea daddy!" She cheered.

"What about me?" I asked. She shrugged and scrunched her face up. "You make me follow the _rules_." She shuddered at the word. I blinked at her before I started laughing. I let her go and she reached for Loren. He scooped her up and hugged her to him. I stood and kissed Mack on the cheek.

"See you later, Nyx!" She yelled. She suddenly gasped. "I heard her mommy!" I nodded.

"I hear her, too, Mack. A lot more than I should." I said. She looked confused but didn't pay much more attention to it.

"Mommy? Where's my purple pony?" Oh no. Not again.

"Uh... I don't know. But I do know where the food is." I said. She bit her lip, considering.

"What kind of food?" She asked.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Spaghetti." She said.

"That." I said, answering her question. She clapped her hands. I held up my hand, showing the number four. Kramisha nodded from where she stood. She ran back inside the House. I grinned at Loren.

"I'll explain later, babe." I said. The Twins froze and turned around, gawking at me.

"Did you just," Shaunee started.

"Call him," Erin continued.

"Babe? Yep, as a matter of fact, I did. Got a problem?" I asked nonchalantly. They glanced at me, then Loren, then at each other before they looked back at me. They shook their heads.

"Nope." Shaunee said while Erin said, "Not at all." They then turned back around and ran up to Stevie Rae and the other Red fledglings who had, finally, decided that it was safe enough to come out.

"That was funny. I think I'm starting to like the Twins." Loren said. My gaze snapped to his.

"Do not ever let them hear you say that." I said urgently. He laughed.

"Do they like me that much?" He asked. I snorted.

"'I just wish I had a chance before he died'." I repeated. He blinked at me. "I swear, those are their exact words."

"Hey, Z." Stevie Rae said, running up to me. I grinned and hugged her close.

"Good to see you again, Stevie Rae." I whispered.

"As the Twins would say,"

"Ditto!" The Twins said together. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"So... what did you do last night?" Stevie Rae asked. I bit my lip and looked at Loren.

"Score two." Erin muttered. Shaunee nodded. I sighed in exasperation, shaking my head.

"How was it, Z?" Shaunee asked, not looking back at us.

"The highest on your score chart." I said, not even blushing. They looked back at me, then Loren, then at each other.

"DETAILS!" They screamed together. I grinned and shook my head.

"I'm not sure you could take it." I said.

"Oh my Goddess!" Jack said quickly, looking scared. I smiled at him.

"You wanna here about me and her?" I asked sweetly. He shook his head, covering his ears. Damien wrapped his arms around him.

"Maybe we should talk about something... else." He said, looking at me. I smiled softly.

"Of course." I said.

"Aw. I wanted to hear that part." Stark whined. Loren looked majorly confused.

"Other daddy loves girl-on-girl." Mack said.

"Other daddy?" I asked.

"Stark has always been like a daddy to me." She said with a shrug. I smiled at Stark. He looked really uncomfortable but really, really happy. I wrapped my arms around him.

"Oh! That reminds me... Mackenzie is an older sister." I said happily. They all froze, looking at me like I was insane.

"Well, see... I kinda sorta lied to Kalona about the never having sex again thing. I mean... I knew I wasn't going to see any of you for a really long time so..." I glanced at Stark and bit my lip.

"What are you trying to say, Zoey?" Shaunee asked. I reached in my purse and got out my new Xperia x10. I quickly dialed the number of my best friend.

"Hello?" I smiled at the sound of her voice.

"Cyara? It's me. Zoey." I said.

"Zoey! Ohmigoddess, Zoey!" She squealed. "What's up?"

"I need to speak to Annaliese." I said.

"Okay." She said.

"Mommy?" I felt tears in my eyes as I heard her little voice. She was only three years old.

"Hey, baby." I said softly. I wiped the tears away. "I've missed you."

"I miss you, too, mommy." She said.

"Hey, do you wanna come to my home? See where I used to live?" I asked.

"Can I?" She asked, her voice turning eager and excited. I laughed.

"Of course." I said. "You get to meet your daddy."

"Really?" She breathed. I nodded and laughed softly.

"Yeah. Really. I think you'll love him." I said.

"Does Anastasia get to come, too?" She asked.

"Of course. I would never leave your sister behind." I said. Annaliese and Anastasia were twins. They were both, obviously, Stark's.

"Is Anastasia there, baby?" I asked.

"Yeah. But she's asleep. She got sick." She said, sniffling.

"Aw. Are you?" I asked.

"No. I just don't like it when sissy's sick." I nodded.

"I know. Well, we'll get you both here as soon as we can, okay?"

"Okay. I love you mommy."

"I love you, too, baby." I said.

"Z?" Cyara's voice asked.

"Yeah."

"There's something really wrong with Anastasia. We don't know what. But... she's been sick for almost two weeks." I bit my lip.

"Okay. We need to get them here as fast as possible." I said urgently.

"Yeah. Hey... Annaliese said something about meeting her daddy... you're going to introduce her to Stark?" She asked.

"Yeah. She needs to know who her daddy is." I said. I then looked at the others. "Hold on a sec, Cee."

"What's up, Z?" Erin asked. I shook my head.

"Anastasia's sick." I said. "Y'all can go ahead and eat. Mackenzie looks like she's about to die if she doesn't get her food." They nodded and left. Stark didn't move.

"Stark, go eat."

"Stark? I wanna talk to him." Cyara said. I heard Brittany in the background, demanding to speak to Stark. I laughed and handed the phone to Stark. He looked confused but answered.

"Hello?" He said. His eyes widened and he looked at me. "You left them with my _sisters_?" He looked horrified. "No wonder one of them is sick. You two probably did some crazy experiment on her." I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine." He paused and looked at me. He pulled me into his arms. "Yeah. I really do. She's my everything." I felt my face heat up and I laid my head on his chest. "Calm down, Brittany. I could never hurt her. Geez. She's the love of my life. I can't exactly hurt her without killing me."

"Okay. Love you both. Bye." He said. He handed me the phone and I put it in my purse. I saw him shudder the slightest bit and I grinned.

"Still hasn't changed, huh?" He shook his head.

"Neither have my sisters. They're still as annoying as I left them." He said.

"I know it's wrong of me to say but... I'm glad you left. If you hadn't... I never would've met you." I said softly. He grinned and kissed me. He pulled away, holding onto my hand as we made our way into the Dining Hall. Stark sat down next to Mackenzie who was sitting in Loren's lap. He reached over and ruffled her hair. She smacked his hand like she always did. He laughed and reached for her food, knowing exactly what she would do. She glared and hissed at him.

"My food." She snapped, jerking the plate towards her. We both laughed.

"You okay, Z?" Damien asked when I didn't sit down. I nodded.

"It's just Anastasia." I said. They nodded.

"Are you going to eat?" Erin asked. I shook my head.

"Me neither. I'm not really that hungry." Stark said, looking a little sick himself.

"Are you two okay?" Shaunee asked.

"Yeah. You both look a little sick." Erin said.

"I guess it's a parent thing. Every time Lil' Mack gets sick, I feel just as bad. Why should this be any different?" I said with a shrug. Stark stood, putting his arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him.

"We'll be in Zoey's room." The others nodded and Stark and I made our way to my room.

"So," Stark said, lying down on my bed. He pulled me on top of him. I pressed my lips to his. "How long will it take for them to get here?" He asked. I grinned.

"A few hours. But... the Chicago House tends to move really fast." I said. He grinned.

"Did you like it there?" He asked. I nodded. I got off of him. I went over to my dresser and dug inside the top drawer. I found the small box easily.

"Your sisters, along with everyone else, had heard about Kalona." I said as I made my way to the bed. He sat up and I sat down next to him. I carefully opened the box.

"They gave me several things to remember them by. They knew I would leave sometime." I smiled through my tears. I stuck my hand under all of the pictures and jewels. I wrapped my fingers around the cold chain. I slowly pulled it out, making sure to keep the charm hidden.

"I can't show you yet. I..." I trailed off, my smile fading a bit. I looked at him. "Your sisters didn't hate Kalona, nor were they under his spell. They didn't worship him, just merely respected him. They believe that he is just misunderstood, not evil." I held up a hand when Stark went to, most likely, argue. "I do not believe he is evil. Evil can not love. And he loves Nyx. He loves me. I'll explain later." I looked down at the pictures once more. I let the chain go. I took out one of the pictures and smiled at the memory. Cyara was on my left and Brittany was on my right. Cyara held Annaliese and Brittany held Anastasia while I, of course, held Lil' Mack. There were many other fledglings around and behind us.

I showed Stark the picture and pointed to one of the other fledglings. She stood behind Cyara, a huge smile on her face. She had reminded me so much of Shaunee it almost always made me cry to see her.

"That's Alicia."I pointed to another. She had golden blonde hair that stopped right at her shoulders. Her eyes were such a bright, electric blue that they were the most noticeable thing in the picture.

"I think you know her." I said quietly. He nodded.

"Ashley." He muttered. I pointed to the guy next to her, Jacob.

"That's Jacob. He loves her. Adores her, ever. But... she doesn't feel that way for him."

"Why?" He asked. I smiled, not meeting his gaze.

"Because she's madly in love with you." I said quickly. I pointed at Jessica and Makayla.

"Jessica and Makayla Middleton." I said. "They are two of my best friends. Cyara and Brittany are my number one best friends. Cyara is holding Annaliese and Brittany is holding Anastasia. They were only one at the time. This was taken almost two years ago." I smiled. "Lil' Mack is only around two or three here." I leaned against Stark.

"They have always wanted to meet their father." I said. "I showed them pictures of you. I told them all about you and all about my adventures at the Mysterious Tulsa House." Stark laughed and took the picture from me. He slid out of bed and went over to my dresser. He took the frame that held a picture of me and him and brought back over to the bed.

"I think that this would look much better in here." He said. I grinned as I took out the old picture. As he put in the new one, I dug around in the box. I laughed out loud when I saw a special one.

"Okay, so... Mack didn't really like the twins very much because they were younger and liked to watch The Wiggles and things like that." I started to explain when I saw the total confusion on Stark's face. I laughed again. "They were watching The Wiggles: Wiggledancing. Again. Now, mind you that they had already watched this exact DVD over eighty-three times. The Twins counted. It is the only one they would watch. So... Mack got a little... Wiggle insane and broke the DVD. She stomped all over it saying "Bad Wiggles. Bad, bad Wiggles" while the Twins screamed and cried. We took a picture afterwards, when they had all calmed down... mostly."

I looked back down at the picture. Mackenzie, with her arms crossed across her chest, was sitting in the middle of the floor, looking totally pissed off. The Twins, still crying a little, sat on either side of her. It was hilarious.

"W-o-w." Stark said, giving the words multiple syllables. Just then, there was a knock on the door. I quickly placed everything in the box and set in on the dresser. I quickly went to answer the door. I grinned when I saw who it was.

"Hey." I said softly. I wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back.

"Hey, that's my warrior, Zoey Redbird." I groaned when I heard her voice. "Getting annoyed with me already?"

"No. It's just that I'm tired of sharing my immortal." I mumbled to myself. He wasn't meant to hear, but Kalona laughed.

"What? What'd she say?" A-ya asked.

"Absolutely nothing." I said firmly. Kalona wrapped his arm around A-ya, pulling her to him, his eyes never leaving my face. I bit my lip and abruptly turned on my heel and went over to the bed. Stark saw Kalona and stood.

"Stark. It fine." I said softly. I placed my hand on his arm. He looked down at me. I smiled and kissed him. "Go. I need to talk to him. In private. But... stand outside. Just in case." I said the words so softly, even I could barely hear them. He nodded and left, glaring at Kalona on the way out.

"A-ya... I need to talk to Kalona... alone." I said when she just stood there. She looked up at Kalona, then at me.

"I don't like that idea." She said. Okay, I was getting really annoyed with her now.

"A-ya, stop being such an annoying, clingy girlfriend and get out." I growled. She flinched and I closed my eyes with a sigh, calling spirit to me.

"I'm sorry it's just that I'm tired and hungry but I can't eat or sleep because my daughter is sick. And before you ask, Mackenzie is fine. That is one of the things I have to talk to him about." I said before either of them could say anything. A-ya nodded and left. As soon as the door shut I sat down on the bed with a groan.

"What is wrong, my Zoey?" Kalona asked, pulling me into his arms.

"A-ya." I said.

"What about her?" He asked.

"She's so... irritating and so... clingy." I said. He looked confused and I sighed in annoyance. "You are her everything. She never leaves you for a second. You are all she talks about. It takes and act of god to get her away from you. It's annoying as hell." I said. He grinned.

"Are you jealous, Zoey?" He teased.

"Hell yeah. But that's not the only reason why she's on my last damn nerve." I ran a hand through my hair and stood. I looked at him.

"I'll be right back." I said. I went into the bathroom and quickly changed. I had a meeting with all of the High Priestesses in the US. I pulled my hair up, letting some hang in my face. I smiled at myself.

"I can so totally do this." I muttered to myself. The smile faded. "I so totally can't do this." I made my way out of the bathroom and froze. Kalona turned to me, holding a very familiar chain in his hand. I knew I couldn't stop him from seeing it so I just stood there. I took a deep breath as he pulled the rest of it out. His expression turned confused but amused. I bit my lip.

"Cyara and Brittany... respect you." I explained slowly. "They think that you're just misunderstood." I stood next to him. He touched my arm, turning me around. I stood there as he put the necklace on me. I bit my lip, not really sure what to do. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck. I shivered but managed to pull away.

"I lied." I said. "About the whole... never having sex again thing. I have two other daughters, Anastasia and Annaliese. They're twins. Stark is the father." I sighed heavily. It felt as if a bunch of weights were lifted off of me. Kalona just stared at me.

"And you lied... why?" He asked.

"I... don't know." I lied.

_You lie, Zoey_. I gasped as I heard A-ya's voice fill my head.

"Your point?" I demanded. Kalona looked majorly confused but I just held up a hand.

_You love him, Zoey. So why do you lie? _

"I have my reasons. So butt out." I snapped.

_I must go back home._

I felt her leave my head and I sighed.

"It was A-ya. She's coming back home." I said. Stark stuck his head through the door.

"Zoey. They're here..." He trailed off, his eyes going down to the onyx wings that hung from the pure silver chain around my neck. "Zoey..." I held up a hand.

"Don't." I warned. I pushed my way past him, suddenly pissed. I groaned just as A-ya rounded the corner. She sighed, relieved. I opened my arms for her, just as she did me. We both gasped. I took a deep breath, feeling more like myself than I had all day.

"Thank you, goddess." I muttered. I looked at the gawking guys behind me over my shoulder. I grinned.

"Come on! Don't you want to see the twins?" I said, laughing. I quickly made my way out of the House. I ran over to the MacUallis Twins. I hugged both of them, tears falling down my face.

"Mommy?" A small, tired voice said. The twins stepped away so I could see my two daughters. I scooped both of them in my arms. They wrapped their little arms around my neck. Anastasia coughed and looked up at me. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was as white as a ghost. Her nose was red and runny. She sniffled and coughed again.

"Mommy... I don't feel good." She said, her voice rough and really quiet. I nodded and kissed her forehead.

"You don't look good either." I whispered.

"I wanna see daddy." Annaliese said. I grinned and turned.

Stark made his way over to us. He wrapped his arms around all of us. Annaliese wrapped her arms around him, but Anastasia stayed where she was. She laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

Stark kissed her cheek. He looked at me, worried.

"What do we do?" He asked. I shrugged.

"The question is, what _can_ we do?" I said.

**I don't want to stop it there but this chapter is already eight pages and I didn't want to continue an already long chapter when I need to skip to a later period anyways. So... I hope you liked it. Or LOVED it. Tell me what you think by REVIEWING. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. It's not that hard! _~Jessica Baylin_**


	8. Who DO You Worship?

**Aaaand... here's your next chapter. I dunno if it's gonna be as long as the last one but... we'll see, won't we? LOLZ. _~Jessica Baylin~ _**

**Inspiration: Kiss 'N' Tell Ke$ha (It's stuck in my head) **

Chapter Eight

~_Who __Do__ You Worship_~

_Zoey_

"Ohmigoddess, Z!" Cyara exclaimed.

"We've missed you soooo much!" Brittany finished.

We were sitting in my dorm room, barely leaving enough room for us to breath. I sat in Stark's lap, his arms around me. Lil' Mack sat in Loren's lap, her head on his shoulder, sleeping soundlessly. The Twins sat on either side of Loren, typical. Aphrodite sat next to Darius on the floor with the twins, Annaliese and Anastasia, in their arms. Anastasia had her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest. She wheezed every time she breathed.

Stevie Rae sat on the floor, in between the two beds. Damien and Jack sat next to her, and Kalona sat next to me and Stark.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Stevie Rae bit her lip. I had a feeling I knew who the person was.

"I have to tell y'all somethin'." She said. She stood and opened the door, revealing none other than the favorite son of Kalona, Rephaim. He walked in and just stood there, looking majorly uncomfortable.

"Are you sure?" I heard him ask her. She nodded.

"Positive." She whispered.

"What is going on here?" Kalona demanded. I placed a hand on his arm.

"Calm down." I said with a small smile. He eyes me suspiciously.

"You know why he's here." He said. I nodded.

"Father. There is something I need to tell you." Rephaim said. Stevie Rae stepped up.

"We need to tell you." She said, not meeting his hard, steady gaze.

"Just tell 'em Stevie Rae." I said in an eerie calm voice. I leaned back against Stark. "They won't hate you. Kalona will think it's really weird, and I'd just love to see everyone's faces." I laughed softly.

"Um... okay so... a long time ago... before Zoey's soul shattered... I found Rephaim." Stevie Rae started. I nodded for her to go on. "He was really hurt, so... I healed him and took care of him." Kalona looked surprised to say the least. I smiled at him.

"There's more." I said eagerly. The others looked confused, and some, wary.

"Well... after I had been takin' care of him... somethin' happened." Stevie Rae continued, looking like a terrified little bunny. "I was in the sun... and I was burnin'... but... Rephaim... saved me." There were multiple gasps.

"It gets better. Trust me." I said.

"I needed blood... bad... so... I drank from him and we... kinda, sorta... Imprinted." She whispered the last word. Every mouth fell to the floor. Except for Kalona's. He just looked down right pissed.

"Where exactly is this going?" Loren asked, knowing _exactly_ where it was going. Stevie Rae looked at everyone before she took a step back. She wrapped her arm around Rephaim and snuggled closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her protectively.

"Holy," Erin started.

"Fucking," Shaunee whispered.

"Shit." Aphrodite finished.

"I... I... I'm in love with him!" She finally blurted out. The first person I looked to was Kalona. I felt my eyes widen in terror. I slowly stood and went over to Stevie Rae and Rephaim.

"You two might wanna run." I muttered. Stevie Rae took a deep breath.

"He saved me from the white bull!" She said. I opened my mouth to say something, then snapped it shut, turning to her.

"Darkness!" I said.

"Yeah, well, see... Aphrodite didn't tell me that white was bad so... I kinda called the wrong bull." She said. She bit her lip.

"You mean to tell me that you called Darkness himself here. To Earth?" Kalona asked, stunned. Stevie Rae cringed but nodded. She shuddered in horror.

"And never again will I." She said. "He saved me... and told the white bull that he would pay my debt..." Kalona stood.

"Rephaim!" Rephaim flinched but didn't step back.

"I love her father. She belongs to me. And I her." He said. It was dead silent for a long time.

Stark whistled.

"Damn." He whispered. Both sets of Twins snickered. They immediately went silent when Kalona glared at them.

"Kalona, calm down." I said firmly. He glared at me, but his eyes softened slightly. I took a step towards him. "You cannot choose who you fall in love with. You should know." He flinched.

"He saved me, but I got rid of Darkness. I called Light then.. and... I had to pay that debt as well." She looked down.

"You never told me what the debt was." Rephaim said softly. She looked up at all of us. Her eyes locked with Kalona.

"'I can chase away Darkness, but if I do so, you will owe a debt to Light, and that debt is that you will be forever tied to the humanity inside that creature over there— the one you called me to save.'" She quoted.

"I'm so sorry I kept this from all of you for so long." She sobbed. Rephaim immediately pulled her into his arms, telling her everything would be okay.

Kalona looked like he didn't know what to do.

"There is nothing to do about it, Kalona. They are in love with each other. In case you haven't noticed, he isn't a Raven Mocker anymore." I said, my voice filled with pride. "I did that. A gift from Nyx. He had finally chosen Light instead of Darkness." Stevie Rae looked up at Rephaim and smiled. He bent down and kissed her, right there in front of everyone. I grinned and laughed. I threw my arms out and my head back.

"Congratulations, Stevie Rae. You have saved Rephaim, son of Kalona, fallen immortal." My voice boomed and echoed with power. But, for the first time ever, it wasn't the voice of the goddess. It was my voice— my power.

"Whoa." Damien breathed.

"Too cool!" Jack squealed.

I was suddenly overcome by a horrible, stabbing pain. I screamed and fell to the ground.

"Zoey!" Stevie Rae ran over to me, wrapping her arms around me. I hissed through my teeth. Loren groaned, feeling the pain through the Imprint.

"She's Changing." He said. Really? Oh, well that's great. You know, except for the horrible, stabbing pain that made me wish I was dead. I was ecstatic!

I sighed, relieved when the pain stopped. I looked up at everyone and the gasped.

"Whoa!" Shaunee said.

"Too cool!" Erin exclaimed. I was confused.

"What? I was already a freak as a fledgling." I grinned. "It can't be too different now." Both sets of Twins shook their heads.

"Not true." They said together. Erin dug in her purse, pulling out a small mirror.

"How many of those do you have?" I asked.

"Fifteen." She said seriously, handing me the mirror. I blinked at her before I looked in the mirror.

Okay... too much. I handed her the mirror.

"F-R-E-A-K." I spelled. "My new favorite word." They all just stared at me.

"Okay, y'all are really freaking me out." I said. Stark blinked a few times and shook his head.

"You look like the goddess herself." He said.

"No shit!" The MacUallis Twins exclaimed, rolling their eyes.

"Lucky bitch." Aphrodite muttered. I laughed then.

"Mommy?" Mackenzie rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times. She squealed when she saw me and jumped off the bed. She wrapped her arm around my neck. She pulled back and traced the Marks on my face and neck.

"Pretty." She whispered.

"Totally." Erin and Shaunee said.

"Um... Z? What is that?" Erik asked, pointing at the onyx wings.

"Nothing." I said calmly.

"Ohmigoddess, Zoey!" Aphrodite gasped. I sighed in annoyance.

"Seriously, Zoey!" Erin snapped.

"Who do you worship!" They all asked at once. Mackenzie went back to Loren and covered her ears. I stood and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Who the fucking hell do you think?" I snarled.

"By the way you're acting? I would say Kalona and Neferet." Aphrodite said. I hissed.

"All of can just fuck the hell off." I snapped. I turned to leave but Stark stopped me.

"What is wrong with you, Z?" He whispered.

"Nothing." I said.

"Why do you have that, then? He's evil, Zoey!" He nearly yelled. I shook my head.

"Evil can't love." I whispered.

"He doesn't love anybody!" The Twins exclaimed.

"He loves Nyx." I breathed.

"That's such shit!" Aphrodite said slowly. I called fire to me and Stark took a step back. I turned to the others, my arms blazing with fire.

"I suggest you leave. All of you." I snarled. They all stood and bolted out. Anastasia and Annaliese sleepily crawled onto Stevie Rae's old bed. Mackenzie laid next to them. Loren stood and left. Stark just stood where he was.

"I know what I'm doing." I said.

"That's what you said last time. And look what happened." He said. I just stood there. It felt as if he had just ripped my heart out. I launched myself at him. Kalona grabbed me by the tops of my arms before I could do anything. I did, however, slash him across the face, leaving five fine bleeding lines. He quickly left, leaving me steaming and snarling.

"Zoey. Calm down." Kalona said, his voice firm. I glared at him, jerking out of his grasp. I couldn't believe he had said that. I just couldn't believe it.

I leaned back against the wall and sank down to the floor. I closed my eyes, holding back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"Leave. Please." I whispered, my voice breaking. His arms were suddenly around me, pulling me to him. I held onto him, silently crying.

"I am so sorry, Zoey." He whispered. I looked up at him. I caressed his cheek and shook my head.

"Don't be." I said softly. I stood and went to the bathroom. I washed my face, brushed my hair and teeth, and straightened up.

I took a deep breath and slowly made my way out.

"I have a meeting in less than an hour. With all High Priestesses in the US. Except Neferet." I said.

"Does Neferet know?" He asked, his arms winding around my waist. I shook my head, leaning against him.

"And I'd really like to keep it that way." I said. I kissed him softly before I pulled away.

"Where will the meeting be held?" He asked. I turned from where I stood in the doorway.

"Here. At the Tulsa House of Night." I said with a shrug. He nodded, looking dazed. I turned on my heel and left.

"Zoey? What's wrong?" Jack asked. Damien went to take Jack's hand, pulling him away from me, but, surprising me greatly, Jack pulled away. He wrapped his arms around me in a friendly hug. I hugged him back, more tears filling my eyes.

"What happened?" He whispered.

"Stark." I breathed. I saw his gaze snap to mine when I said his name.

"What did he do?" He asked. I opened my mouth to tell him but shook my head.

"Later." He nodded and went back over to Damien. He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. "I believe in you, Zoey. You never lead us wrong." I grinned and wiped the tear that had fallen away.

"Zoey... I know you're all high and mighty with the goddess but... I don't think this is something she would want you to do." Aphrodite said. I just smiled at her.

"Well, you keep thinking that. I'm going my own way. We'll see who's right in the end." She stared at me, stunned. I walked over to the MacUallis Twins. They grinned at me.

"They aren't looking at you like you're crazy. You haven't told them?" They shook their heads.

"Yet." They said. They looped their fingers under the silver chains on their necks and pulled upwards, revealing onyx wings. The others gasped. I turned to them.

"Suck it up. You know, Nyx gives everyone free will, even her warriors. Even Kalona." I said, my voice filled with power. "Just because he has made many mistakes does not mean that he is evil. When you are with Darkness for as long as he has been, it is hard to get out." Some of them looked away. Erik made his way over to me. He looked at me and placed his fist over his chest.

"I believe in you, too." I smiled and he grinned back. I hugged him close and kissed him. He seemed shocked to high hell and I laughed.

I turned away from him and made my way down the halls of the Tulsa House. Stark reached for me but I moved away from him, not even looking his way.

~_Meeting with High Priestesses_~

_Zoey_

"Zoey Redbird. How wonderful to meet you." The High Priestess of the California House said. I grasped her forearm and nodded.

"You, too. Oh, I'm no High Priestess. It shouldn't be too amazing to see me." I said, letting her go. "Unless you like freaks that everyone else hates." The HPs glanced at each other. I sighed.

"I need to tell all of you about the High Priestess of the Tulsa House." I said. "She's crazy. Literally. She's with Darkness and she has been for... I dunno. Ever since I've known her." They looked shocked and taken aback by my announcement.

"You aren't making any sense, dear." The HP of Alabama said. Coming from the one from freakin' _Alabama_.

"Actually, I am. Neferet has been with Darkness for a long time now. And she's gotten much worse than before. Now she's... she utterly terrifies me." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "She has killed many people. Death, fear... they bring her power. She killed Prof. Nolan and Loren Blake. My consort..." I stopped. I bit my lip. "My Consort, Heath Luck, told me in the Otherworld. He was killed by Kalona. Neferet has been trying to get rid of me for a while now and she almost succeeded then. It's hard to explain. But, I do know one thing. She needs to be destroyed. She cannot be killed. She had claimed that she was the demon." I said. "But she has become the Queen Tsi Sgili." There were gasps.

"What are we supposed to do?" Another HP asked. I shook my head.

"I can't let you do anything. You are all too important to too many people. Neferet was able to kill Shekinah. She could kill you, too." They all gaped at me and I nodded. "Yeah. She killed her too. There's no telling how many others she killed. But... we need to convince the High Council that she's evil. Every-damn-body is under her spell. Kalona is trying. He is trying to escape the hold that Darkness has on him. But Neferet has embraced it. She is becoming something far worse that the Tsi Sgili."

"What could be worse than that?"

Just then, Stark, Kalona, Loren, and Erik, along with the others, walked in. Just in time. They needed to hear this too.

"Well, she could become Darkness." I announced.

"Who? Neferet?" Stevie Rae asked. I nodded. She just blinked at me. "Honestly? I thought she already was."

"Neferet is an evil bitch. Let's leave it at that." Stark said.

"Yeah. It pretty much covers everything." Erik agreed.

"No. What covers it is that she a psycho crazy bitch whore." The Twins said. I looked back at the HPs.

"And there you have it." I said. They nodded.

"We will help you, Zoey Redbird, High Priestess of Nyx." They said. I was shocked at the title but nodded.

"Zoey, we need to talk." Stark said as we all made our way out of the House. I sighed.

"I don't have time for your bullshit, James." I said.

"It's Stark." He mumbled. I stopped and stood in front of him.

"Yeah? 'Cause the Stark I knew never acted like this. The Stark I knew never hurt me. The Stark I knew never would have said anything like that." I snarled. I turned on my heel and quickly made my way to the jet.

"Okay, you all go to Italy." I announced. "I will meet you there in a few days. I have to settle a few things first." They nodded and left.

I sighed and fell to the ground, too weak to stand.

"Zoey!" The Twins ran over to me.

"Are you okay, Z?" Erin asked.

"Blood." I mumbled.

"What?" Shaunee asked. Everything turned red and hazy. I looked up at them.

"Blood." I hissed. I launched myself at Erin. I latched onto her neck, tearing into the skin. I drank greedily, ignoring Shaunee's screams and the hands trying to pry me off of her.

I suddenly felt a chill run up my spine. I had an eerie feeling. A terrifying feeling.

"Zoey Redbird!" I gasped and pulled away from Erin. I looked at the hideous white bull.

"Darkness." I breathed in slight awe. I didn't know that I had started moving, until I was standing right in front of him.

"Zoey. It's been too long." He whispered, a tendril of Darkness wrapping around my waist. I gasped at the pleasure his pain brought me.

"Three years." I breathed. He laughed and more tendrils of Darkness wisped around me.

"Zoey!" I looked over my shoulder. Kalona froze, his eyes widening. Mackenzie and the twins screamed. They fell to the ground, gripping their heads. Darkness laughed.

"These three are special, Zoey." He said. "Just my presence causes them horrible pain." I moaned as Darkness sank into my skin, causing blood to seep out.

"Kalona. You have disappointed me." Darkness said. I turned to face everyone. I glared at Kalona.

"Zoey. Why?" He whispered. I scowled, tears in my eyes once more.

"I didn't know what else to do." I snapped. I wiped the tears away, anger taking the pain's place. "So I went to Darkness." He laughed.

"Little, powerful Zoey finally made the right choice." He said.

"Zoey! Don't! You don't know what you're getting into!" Stevie Rae sobbed.

"Red One. We meet again. You never did pay your debt." Tendrils of Darkness wrapped around her. She screamed and I cringed, feeling her pain just in that screamed. I looked at Darkness.

"Don't. She does not need to pay the debt. She has suffered more than enough." I said. He thought about for a moment then nodded.

"So long as you continue to pay her debts... along with yours." He said. I bit my lips but nodded. He laughed seductively. "Then I will see you tonight." And then he disappeared.

"I can explain." I said.

**Holy Mother of Nyx! What the hell! Well, I hope you liked it, loved it, whatever. LOLZ. _~Jessica Baylin~ _**


	9. Paying Debts & Help Me

**Heyyyy. Sorry it's been so long. Here's your next chapter. **

Chapter Eight

~_Paying Debts_~

~_Help Me_~

_Zoey_

I took a deep breath.

"I have debts to pay... along with Stevie Rae's and Rephaim's... and... Kalona's." I breathed the last part, hoping they wouldn't hear.

"WHAT!" Stark demanded. I flinched.

"What? Who else's debt is she paying?" The Twins squeaked. I was silently begging Stark not to say anything. He shook his head.

"I'm not telling them," He said firmly. "You are."

I just stood there, staring at them, frozen. I took a deep breath.

"I've been paying Kalona's debts for about three years now." I said in a rush. Kalona froze. He was like a statue. Loren went pale but didn't say anything. Jack fell to the ground with a fainted sigh.

"No!" Kalona said, his voice echoing in the night. "You will do no such thing!"

"I don't exactly have a choice anymore." I snapped. "I have to do this for as long as it takes to pay off your debts."

"And how long is that?" Aphrodite asked, her voice faint.

"A long time." I said quickly.

"How long is a long time?" Erin demanded. I bit my lip.

"Three... four... five..." I trailed off, losing count. I glanced down at my fingers, ticking the numbers off.

"Years?" Kalona asked. I bit my lip once again.

"Uh... hold on." I said as I counted back to when I started, three years ago. "Okay, I've already payed off three years worth so... fifteen to twenty centuries."

I swear Kalona was about to explode.

"Not my fault you couldn't behave yourself." I said bitterly. Dark tendrils seeped up from the ground, wrapping around me, caressing me, calling me.

I moaned lightly.

"Zoey?" Kalona grabbed me by the wrist. I hissed, baring my teeth at him.

"What!" I snapped.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly.

I jerked away from him. Darkness's hold tightened around me and I grinned, closing my eyes.

"I'm coming." I whispered.

It loosened its hold and I opened my eyes.

"I have to go." I said calmly.

"You are not going anywhere." Stark said firmly.

I laughed bitterly.

"That's not what Darkness says." I said darkly.

The Twins exchanged glances before they raised their arms. They called water and fire to wash and burn away the Darkness that surrounded me, caressed me.

I jerked my chin up a fraction and they were thrown back.

"Don't touch my Darkness, and you won't get hurt." I said calmly.

"What has happened to you, Zoey?" Kalona whispered. I blinked at him.

"You did." He flinched and I let Darkness take me.

Tendrils of it wrapped around me, causing blood to spill. I moaned, closing my eyes. I was almost gone when I felt her presence.

"Why, Zoey?" She whispered.

I felt tears in my eyes as I looked at Nyx, my goddess, that I hadn't seen for almost three years.

I immediately started pulling away. Darkness tightened its grip on me, which just made me pull that much harder.

"Zoey..." His voice was just a soft whisper.

But I wasn't falling for it. Not again.

With a feral snarl that scared even me, I jerked out of Darkness' hold, causing it to tighten before the tendrils snapped. My body was covered with blood.

My blood.

Kalona pulled me into his arms before he stood once more.

"We need to get her to the infirmary!" He said urgently. He looked at Darius.

"Tell Neferet that we have a fledgling in need of desperate care." Darius nodded before he disappeared.

"Nyx... I'm sorry..." I managed to breathe before I found myself sucked into a familiar, and utterly terrifying, blackness.

Or Darkness.

_Zoey_... my name was just a whisper in the dark abyss.

I tried to cry out, but the sound caught in my throat.

Kalona... Stark... Loren!

As soon as I thought his name, I was jerked back into my body with a gasp.

I jolted up, finding myself in the infirmary, surrounded by worried and scared faces.

"My God. You're freakin me the hell out with all the stares." I said with a weak smile.

They all sighed with relief as they hugged me and told me how glad they were to see me.

"Yeah, yeah. Heard it all before. Literally." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, maybe, if you stopped almost dying, you wouldn't have this problem." Aphrodite said. I laughed softly.

"I love you guys, but..." I trailed off, glancing at Loren.

"Say no more. We're out." The Twins said.

As soon as they left, Loren wrapped his arms around me,kissing me with so much passion and love, I thought I might explode.

"Goddess, I love you!" I said breathlessly. He smiled at me before he kissed me again... and again... and again.

"I _adore_ you." He murmured against my lips. I felt the familiar blush rise to my cheeks.

"So... I'm not dead. Can I leave now?" He laughed softly and shook his head. Not yet. Neferet wasn't able to heal you, for some reason." He said, confused.

"Damnation." I whispered. He grinned.

"You cuss." I groaned.

"And _you_ hang out with Aphrodite way too much." He laughed and kissed me again.

"Seems you can't get enough of me." I said, kissing him back.

"How can I?" He whispered. And I knew exactly what he meant.

—

Loren fell asleep next to me while I stared at the ceiling, unable to make my eyes shut, too frightened to go back to that dark abyss. Too afraid that Darkness would appear in my dreams... unless...

I closed my eyes and thought of one person, someone I knew would come to me and keep me safe. Someone that would kill anyone who even thought of hurting me.

_Kalona._ My mind called out to him. I prayed to the goddess that this would work. If it didn't, the abyss, and Darkness, would be waiting for me.

So I continued calling and, for the first time, I called Kalona to my dreams. For the first time, I was in control.

This would be fun.

_Kalona_

Kalona was lying on his bed, too worried to sleep. Why was he worried? The answer was simple. His love, his A-ya, his Zoey, had just encountered Darkness. She was hurt because she had defied Darkness. Defied to pay any more debts.

His debts.

It was his fault she was hurt.

"Kalona."

Kalona was suddenly pulled out of his reverie by the sound of her voice. He would know her voice anywhere.

But how? She was nowhere around. She was in the infirmary with her lover.

"Kalona... Kalona..." Her voice was a whisper in his head and he, somehow, knew what she was wanting, what she was doing.

It was then that he felt the pull. The familiar feeling he always got whenever he went to her in her dreams.

And he suddenly found himself standing before her. She slowly opened her eyes and and evil smile formed on her face.

_I'm in for it._ Kalona thought.

_Zoey_

I looked around at the dream I had created.

I immediately knew where I was. It was Nyx's Grove. I had been here when my soul had shattered so long ago.

Kalona looked at me, shocked and confused.

"You called me to you." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"Really?" I said sarcastically. I took a step towards him, placing my hands on his chest.

"Why?" He asked, his hands covering mine. I looked away from him then.

"I was tired but I couldn't make myself go to sleep." I said.

"What's wrong, Zoey?" He asked, concerned. I finally looked back at him.

"I was scared to close my eyes." I said, my voice void of any emotion.

His hands slid up my arms before he pulled me close to him.

"Why are you scared, my beautiful Zoey?" He whispered. I felt my cheeks get warm at his comment. I bit my lip, not sure if I should tell him the whole reason I called him here.

And, suddenly, the dream flickered.

I felt a hard pull, and I shook my head, trying to hold on to the dream. Kalona chuckled.

"Not so easy, is it?" He taunted, face smug.

I hissed through my teeth, the pulling slowly evaporating.

"You are such an ass. You know that, right?" I said, running a hand through my hair.

He chuckled again, pulling me back in his arms. I felt a small pull and I pushed him away.

"You're distracting me." I said, shaking off that annoyingly consistent pull.

He just grinned and sat down on the ground, leaning against a tree.

"You seem to be enjoying this." I said, my voice slightly bitter. He just shrugged, reaching for me. I eyes him and he laughed.

"Come, my Zoey. I will help you." He said, a glimmer in his eyes that told me he was going to enjoy this.

"I'm terrified." I stated bluntly.

I let him pull me onto his lap, his arms tight around me.

I groaned as I felt the annoying pull once more. But it was different this time. I felt my control leave. I shook my head as _my_ dream turned into _his_ dream.

"Better?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes at him. And, suddenly, his touch changed. I trembled at the pleasurable pain that he brought me, needing more of him.

He brought his lips down to mine and I moaned. I shifted in his arms so I was straddling him.

I moved against him, earning a moan from him.

And, suddenly, I pulled away, a grin on my face.

"I came here to sleep, not to make out with an immortal." I said wryly.

He smiled seductively, the scene changing from a beautiful grove, to a dark room with a big bed. I rolled my eyes.

"What is up with you guys and sex?" I said sarcastically.

And I suddenly found myself in that soft bed, Kalona hovering over me. He kissed me, heady and deep, gently laying his body on top of mine. I deepened the kiss, running my hands over his chest. He pulled away slightly.

"I thought you came to sleep." He said, breathing heavy. I grinned at him, bringing his mouth back to mine.

"I am asleep." I murmured against his lips before I kissed him once again.

His hands went under my shirt and I moaned into his mouth as a shiver passed through me at his cold heat. He slid the shirt up, breaking the kiss just long enough to get it over my head. He unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them off. He ran his hands hungrily up and down my body, earning moans and whimpers from me. He unclasped my bra and slid it off.

Kalona moaned, bringing his lips back to mine as he unbuttoned his jeans and took then off.

He slowly began to lower his body down mine. He stopped when he got to my breasts.

He ran his tongue over my left breast and I arched my back slightly. He then went to my right before continuing down my body.

He finally stopped when he got to my panties. He pushed my knees farther apart. He then pushed the fabric aside.

He slowly, agonizingly so, brought his mouth to my throbbing core. I gasped and threw my head back. He ran his tongue over me, and I whimpered. His tongue entered me and I cried out, thrusting my hands into his hair.

He brought his lips back to mine. He ran his hand over me and I groaned. He slowly pulled my panties off.

I gasped as he entered me. I thought I might explode at the pure pleasure he brought me.

He slowly began to move against me and I met his thrusts with my own.

I arched my back against him, a long moan escaping from my lips.

He moved faster, and we moaned each others' names.

My fangs grazed the skin on his neck before I bit down. Hard.

My world seemed to stop at the taste of his blood. It was nothing like I had ever tasted before.

I felt myself getting stronger, and I moaned at the intense pleasure running through me as we both found our release.

We lay there, panting. I caressed his cheek.

"Drink from me again." He whispered, his voice almost pleading.

I didn't even hesitate.

My lips went back to the wound and I drank and drank and drank. I fell back on my back, panting.

I could feel a drop of blood falling down from my mouth, but I didn't care.

Kalona groaned.

"Don't stop." He said.

I grinned and pushed him back against the bed, onto his back. I climbed on top of him. I slowly lowered myself onto him, earning a moan. I lowered myself onto his body, letting my hands run along his chest.

I lowered my lips to his neck, barely brushing them against the skin there. I very slowly sank my teeth into his neck, and his gasped in pain, his fingers digging into my back. I moaned and raised my mouth from the side of his neck. I moved down a little ways and bit down again.

I then moved above the first bit mark. I kept biting him, just biting, making an intricate pattern.

His neck was covered with blood and I lapped at it. He shivered and I grinned.

The wounds slowly started to heal. I pulled back and smiled, running my fingers over the biting marks that danced within on another like chains that were imprinted in his skin for eternity. I then looked at his face and I grinned down at him.

"More?" I purred. His arms tightened and his eyes burned with eternal lust.

"More." He said, his voice rough with desire.

I ran my lips over his jugular, barely brushing them against his skin. I parted my lips before I bit down. The blood gushed out, and I drank greedily.

I moaned as I began to move against him. I didn't stop, though, when we found our release. I continued to drink and move against him. My hands went to his hips and I stilled him.

I fucked him, long and hard, drinking from him all the while.

I finally sealed the wound shut, pulling myself off of him.

"I love you, Zoey." He whispered.

"I know." I said, standing. "The problem is that I don't feel the same."

**Omg! That was cold of Z wasn't it? Well... can you believe I wrote all of this on my phone? Or even wrote it in the first place? Yeah. It HAS been forever, but I at least wrote it. REVIEW! LOLZ JB**


	10. What You Want, What You Need

**Heyyyy. Here's your next chapter. Enjoy!**

**BTW: I did not write a chapter of Jack's death. I... I just couldn't make myself do it so... take the ACTUAL chapter in AWAKENED and make that one of the chapters to this story, okay? So... Jack is now dead. Just like in the actual books. Thank you and... I just can't believe they could kill JACK, of all people. :'(**

Chapter Ten

~_What You Want, What You Need_~

_Zoey_

I slowly made my way down the halls of the House of Night.

It had been a week since I had been taken to the infirmary. I had just been released with nothing but some scratches.

It had been a week since I had seen Kalona. I flinched at his name.

I hadn't wanted to say those words; those horrible, cold words. But I had to. I was with Loren and I needed to end things with Kalona. And, if I was being honest with myself, I needed to end things with all of my other guys.

I sighed and sank down against the hall wall.

"Zoey?" I looked up at Loren.

"Hey." I said with a sad smile. He sat down next to me and I leaned against him as his arm found its way around me.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nothing. I just had to break someone's heart." I said, not looking at him.

"Who's?" He asked softly.

And so I told him about the dream.

When I finished, silence fell over us. I hung my head in shame.

"Well... that's... unexpected." He said.

I sighed heavily, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Sh, love. Everything will be okay." He hushed, pulling me into his arms.

I cried silently. The only thought running through my head was, _I'm getting better at this silent crying thing. _

I sniffled a few times before I finally looked up at him. He smiled, gently wiping away the the tears that stained my face.

He caressed my cheek and I leaned into him.

"I love you, Zoey." He whispered. I smiled and kissed him softly.

"I love you, too, Loren." I said.

"Well, well, well." Loren's arms tightened around me as he pulled me closer to his chest, glaring at Kalona.

"Can't you see she's hurting enough without your help!" He demanded.

"And why would I care if her little teenage heart is broken?" Kalona's voice was mocking, and I finally decided that enough was enough.

I pushed away from Loren and stood.

"That's it!" I said, sounding pissed to high hell. "I am sick and damn tired of being looked down on and being used and hurt!" My voice boomed and echoed, the voice of our goddess seeping into my own.

A group of fledglings began to form, watching with awe and amusement. I could see that they felt sorry for whoever pissed me off.

"Just because I'm young, doesn't mean I'm stupid or that I'm not important. That's number one. Just because I dumped you doesn't mean that you can just come to me and mock me and treat me like shit. That's number two." I made my way over to him.

"I can't be with someone who has embraced Darkness, as you have. It's not my fucking fault that you got kicked the hell out of the Otherworld."

And that was it for Kalona. He raised his hand as if to backhand me. His hand was a mere inch away from my face when my hand shot out and caught him by the wrist.

"Why do you wish to hurt my children?" My mouth formed the words, but the voice was of my goddess.

Kalona's eyes widened and I slung his hand away in disgust.

"You ever try to hit me again, and I'll kill you. Immortal or not, you still need your head. " I threatened, my voice low and dangerous, colder than it had ever been before.

I felt a hand on my shoulder then.

"Calm, Zoeybird." I turned, a grin on my face. I threw my arms around her.

"Nyx!" I said. She laughed, hugging me back.

"You'd think, out of the many times I have come to you, you would be used to it by now." She said. I shook my head.

"I don't think that's possible." I then noticed the gawking fledglings. "Close your mouths. You might catch a fly."

Nyx laughed.

"Hell, my dear fledglings." She said warmly.

"This is so awesome." A girl whispered to one of her friends. The other girl just nodded in response.

"I think you need to visit a little bit more." I whispered to Nyx.

I turned to Kalona.

"I lied, okay?" I said in frustration. "I didn't mean what I said. But I can't keep doing this. This... having three guys, four guys, what-the-hell-ever. I had to break your heart. I need you to hate me. I need you to move on. Just like you need to move on from..." I trailed off, knowing he didn't want the others to know. His face went hard and cold.

"You know... if you let Darkness go, and embraced Light... she might just forgive you. You could go back home." I said softly.

"As much as I would love to speak with you all, you all need to go back to your dorms. This is... a private conversation." Nyx said. The fledglings nodded. I noticed that Mackenzie had stayed.

She came up to Nyx and just stared at her. She then looked at Kalona.

"Is he bad?" She asked.

Nyx looked troubled and very, very sad. She nodded, kneeling in front of my daughter.

"But he wasn't always like that, Lil' Mack." She said softly. Mack's eyes sparkled slightly.

"Really?" She said.

"He used to be my warrior." Nyx said. I swear there were tears in her eyes and I suddenly knew. Kalona was more than just a warrior to her. He was a friend. She had lost her warrior, a friend. "Whoa." Mackenzie breathed. I laughed almost silently.

Nyx laughed and nodded.

"He was the best warrior I ever had. I still haven't found anyone like him."

"Then why isn't he in the Otherworld, with you?" I cringed slightly at the question. Nyx smiled at her.

"He fell." And, at that, she disappeared. Mackenzie looked up at me and I immediately knew what was coming.

"Mommy!" She said sweetly.

"No." I said firmly.

"Pleeeease?" She begged giving me The Face. I bit my lip and shook my head. Her lip began to tremble.

"I think it's time for your nap." I said, though it was an hour too early. Damn.

"Tell me. Or I'll scream." She said, completely serious.

"No."

As soon as the word left my lips, she opened her mouth and screamed a piercing scream.

The windows of the House instantly shattered.

Kalona covered his ears, grimacing, while Loren cringed, hissing in pain.

I didn't even flinch.

I grabbed Kalona's and Loren's hand and walked away, leaving my screaming daughter in the hall.

When we got to my dorm room, they sighed in relief.

"What the hell!" Loren demanded. I shrugged.

"Mackenzie hates not knowing things. Especially when it's something like this." I said dismissively.

"She shattered every window in the House of Night!" Kalona exclaimed.

I nodded, lying on my bed next to Loren. He leaned back on his elbows, looking down at me like I had two heads.

"So... what now?" He asked. I closed my eyes, suddenly exhausted.

"We wait until Sanity decides to pay her a visit."

Kalona chuckled.

"Why didn't you just tell her?" Loren asked.

"It's not my story to tell." I said simply.

"You truly are amazing, Zoey." He said, a smile in his voice.

I looked over at him. He had laid down next to me, propping himself up on his elbow. He gently pressed his lips to mine and a small moan escaped my lips as he breathed into me.

I felt my face get hot when Kalona cleared his throat. I bit my lip, not looking at either of them.

Loren's arms wound around me, pulling me to him. I leaned back against him.

"Wow, Z. I never thought you were the threesome type." Aphrodite's voice rang through my ears. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"You do know that Lil' Mack is screaming, right?" I nodded.

"She's a spoiled brat who has gotten her way way too many times. And it's about time that I stop and actually tell her no. Something I don't think I've ever done before."

"Wait! You mean... _discipline_?" Aphrodite gaped at me. "I didn't know you even knew what that word _meant_." I rolled my eyes at Loren.

"Don't tell me that you have never told that child no." He said. I bit my lip.

"She's way too much like you." I said sheepishly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, amused.

"Nothing." I said.

"Mack has this face that you just can't say no to. Her eyes get big and pathetic and her lip trembles. She's like a little lost kid." Aphrodite said. Then she stopped, thinking. "Oh! Now I get it! It kind of reminds you of Loren with his... what was it? 'Little-lost-boy smile'?" She asked innocently. I didn't say anything, and she sneered.

"You haven't denied it, Z." She said slyly.

"I'm going to kill you." I said. I jumped up and lunged at her. She squealed and curled up in a ball. I smiled smugly at her.

"'Little-lost-boy smile'?" Loren asked when Aphrodite and Kalona left.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" I said with a weary sigh. He chuckled and shook his head, pushing me back on the bed.

"The funny thing is... I actually know what you're talking about." He said in amusement.

"Really? 'Cause you just lost me." I said. He smiled the smile that made my heart melt before he kissed me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, needing more.

"I love you." I murmured against his lips. He smiled once more.

"And I love you. More than anything." He whispered.

His lips went back to mine and I moaned when his hands went under my shirt, creating a searing path on my skin. He lifted the shirt up and over my head.

_My_ hands found the hem of his shirt and I pulled it up until it went over his head, and I threw it on the floor. I slowly ran my hands up his chest and back around his neck.

My jeans came off and I was writhing in anticipation.

But, as much as I wanted this, I was tired and weak.

I gently pushed against his chest and he pulled back the smallest bit.

"Not tonight." I whispered. He groaned and I grinned, kissing him once more.

"I thought you said no." He breathed. I smiled.

"No sex. There's a difference." I said. He laughed softly before he kissed me again... and again... and again...

His hands ran all over my body and I arched my back.

His lips trailed down to my neck and I couldn't hold back the moan that escaped my lips.

"I need you," he groaned in my ear.

I couldn't deny him when he was touching me like this.

"Then take me." I breathed before I latched on to his neck.

The rest of our clothes came off and I moaned as his hands touched every inch of my body.

I pulled away from his neck, sealing the wound shut. His hand went down to my throbbing core. I moaned as he rubbed his hand over me, and his lips were on mine once more.

I writhed underneath him and moaned when I felt his tip at my entrance.

"Please." I whimpered. He groaned in my mouth and I gasped as he entered me.

"I love you." I breathed.

He responded by thrusting into me and I met his thrusts with my own.

He latched onto my breast, biting into the soft flesh there. I moaned, my hands going to his hair, pulling him closer.

"I love you..." I breathed in his ear. He groaned and moved faster.

We lay there, panting, covered in sweat.

I bit my lip before I kissed him softly.

"My Loren." I whispered.

"My Zoey." He murmured against my lips.

~_You Will Be Mine_~

_Nyx_

_I sighed as I felt my Zoeybird fall asleep. I went to my grove, needing peace more than ever. I shouldn't call her. It was wrong of me to do. I should not love her like this. She should not love me like she does. _

_It was a strange thing, really. It was just like with Kalona and I. Or, well... Kalona with me. _

_Yet... with Kalona... I punished him. He should not love his goddess as he does. But with Zoey... I did nothing. This would complicate things, surely. _

_I took a deep breath and called her to me. _

_She stood before me, a smile on her face, as she opened her arms for me. _

_I went to her, welcoming her embrace. _

"_It's been a while." She said softly. I nodded. _

"_It has." I said absently. She was suddenly concerned. _

"_Are you okay?" She asked. I nodded, the thoughts of the similarities between her and Kalona still reeling through my head. _

_Zoey took my hand in hers and pulled us further into the grove, an evil smile on her face. _

"_Zoey...?" She shook her head, that same evil glint in her eyes. _

_When we were deep in the grove where no one could see us, she pulled me to her, her lips on mine. _

_I moaned, my arms winding around her, needing more. _

_She suddenly pulled away, just enough to speak. _

"_I love you." She whispered, and I felt the truth of her words, the pure love and joy that they held. _

"_I love you, too, my Zoeybird." I replied softly. _

"_As much as I would love to stay, I do believe Kalona will try to get in my dreams tonight, the idiot." She said, frustration clear on her face. _

"_Speaking of Kalona," I began, stepping out of her embrace. _

"_Oh, God. This should be good." She murmured to herself. I smiled slightly. _

"_You know that I banned him because he loved me in the wrong way." I said slowly. I turned back to face her. She nodded for me to go on. _

"_Yet I have done nothing to you." I said. "I can't. Because I love you. Surely, you know that this will create... conflict." _

_She thought over my words. It was a long while before she spoke. _

"_Well," She said, taking my hand in hers. "I guess we'll just have to work it out. If I can save the world from Nasty Neferet, I'm pretty sure I can deal with a jealous immortal. I have to deal with this kind of thing every day, Nyx. You, of all people, should know that." She said, rolling her eyes. _

_I smiled softly, caressing her cheek. The smile quickly faded, though. _

"_Kalona cannot be saved." I murmured. She shook her head. _

"_That's where you're wrong... Nyx." She said, her eyes sad and concerned. "You can feel Light, love, and happiness within people... correct?" _

_I nodded slowly, unsure of where she was going with this. _

"_Well... then you should know he can be saved. He is not evil. Evil cannot love. He loves you. He adores you. Therefore... he's not evil." She said, taking my face in her hands. Her next words were nothing but a whisper. "He can be saved." _

_I thought over her words, knowing in my heart that they were true, but unable to believe them. _

"_I know you are correct, your words hold truth. And I want to believe them," I shook my head. "But you have not seen everything he has done in the past." _

"_The past is just that. The past. You need to leave it there." She said firmly. "Nyx... I know what he's done. And... he killed Heath. And I should hate him for that... but... I don't. Hating him will get me nowhere. It's not gonna do anything, except make things worse. And... fighting him gets me absolutely nowhere. If anything, it just pisses him and Neferet off, so they kill other people. Like... like... Jack." She whispered. "And Loren, whether he's back or not. And Nolan, whether she's back or not. Fighting them... it does nothing. But... if you go along with them, make a few deals, treat them as people, not enemies... just might get us somewhere." She said the words slowly, as if she were going over them in her head, a plan forming. _

"_And... he's only done these things because of what you did." I knew she didn't want to say the words, I could see the pain in her eyes as she said them. But that didn't make them hurt any less. _

"_I love you, Nyx. But... though he embraced Darkness... if you hadn't banished him... we wouldn't be here right now. And Kalona would be here... with Light. Heath would be here. Jack... I'm not so sure..." _

"_Zoey?" I smiled at the sudden light in Zoey's eyes. I knew I was just distracting her, but I couldn't handle this right now. _

_Tears filled Zoey's eyes as she ran over to Jack, embracing him. _

"_Oh Jack!" She cried. "We've missed you so much!" _

_I smiled at the two. Zoey suddenly looked back at me. _

"_This discussion is not over, Nyx." She said firmly. "You have to face this mess sometime. Either that... or we all die as sacrifices to Darkness. Because... right now? He's winning." _

_I felt a strong pain in my heart and I let myself fade away from the two, needing out. _

"_Nyx?" I looked up at Erebus. "What has happened?" _

_I couldn't speak. I threw myself into his arms and cried. _

~_A Beautiful Reunion_~

_Zoey_

I held Jack in my arms, laughing.

"How have you been, Zoey?" He asked, the smile never leaving his face.

"Are you happy, Jack?" I asked.

"Of course." He said, a sudden look in his eyes. I knew that look all too well. It was the same look he would get when he was excited. "It's amazing here, Zoey! I'm never sad anymore. I never get angry. Everyone is so happy and filled with Light. And it's _so beautiful!_" I laughed. I could listen to him gush about the Otherworld all day. If I could hear him, I was happy. It meant he was here, alive or not, I was with Jack.

But, suddenly, too soon, he stopped.

"How's Damien?" He asked quietly.

"Let's just say it's a good thing you can't feel pain or anything like that." I said, my voice barely audible. Tears filled my eyes just thinking of him. I finally met his eyes, mine pleading and heartbroken.

"It's horrible, Jack. He... he's not Damien anymore. He just... stays in his room all the time and... he hasn't had a shower in two days. He doesn't use big words anymore. He... he doesn't even talk! Oh, Jack! What do I do!"

He wrapped his arms around me and I felt something wet hit my shoulder. I pulled away to see tears falling down his face, that perfect smile suddenly replaced by a frown.

"I... I thought there was only happiness." I sniffled. He nodded.

"But... not when it comes to you guys. Hearing how bad it is, Damien, of all people." It was silent for a long time as we just sat there, in Nyx's Grove.

"How... how's Duchess?" He whispered, never meeting my eyes.

"She's... she's making it." I said, sounding like a lost puppy. Jack's eyes finally flickered to mine.

"I saw." He said, a small smile on his face. "My... funeral. Tell Erik I said "thank you"." I smiled and nodded.

"Of course. Ya know... I knew he liked you... but... I didn't think you two were that close." I said, thinking about how I found him. "He was... broken. All of us were but... besides... Damien... I think he was the worst. Even Duchess wasn't that bad, and that's saying something, because I've never seen a dog actually cry before. Jack... it's terrible without you. You were our joy when things got bad. You reminded us that, even times like these... it's okay to laugh and have fun with friends. That we still have a life to live. And... in the end... it was you who didn't get to live." Tears fell freely down my face.

"Aphrodite must be okay, right?" He asked, sounding hopeful. I met his eyes again.

"She's not nearly as bad as the rest of us, but... She misses you. She's more... I'm gonna prove Neferet did this. I'm tired of losing my friends. Aphrodite is more pissed than upset. She misses you, and she's pissed because she does... because you're supposed to be down there, with us, where we can't exactly miss you. Stark... Stark doesn't cry or anything but... he's definitely different, now. Kalona didn't even know. Oh and... Rephaim? The Raven Mocker who killed Anastasia? He's good. Stevie Rae and him are in love and Nyx forgave him and now he's human at night, Raven Mocker during the day or something like that..." Jack just stared at me like I was speaking a different language.

"I've been dead for barely two days." He said. "And... what happened to Normal? Where did he go? Can we get a little dose of Normal, 'cause... what?"

I couldn't help but laugh at him. Poor guy. He looked like a lost puppy. I bit my lip.

"Nyx?" I called out.

_Zoey?_ I smiled.

"Do you think... maybe... Jack could, I dunno... come to earth like you do? Just to let Damien and the others know he's okay? I mean... I know you can't bring back everyone just because we miss them but... they need to hear it from him and... Damien needs to be able to really say goodbye. I was able to with Heath, he should be able to with Jack." I said, choking up again.

_Of course, Zoeybird._ Her voice was but a whisper, but I could hear the smile in her voice.

I took Jack's hand and, as we shimmered, I spoke.

"Thank you, Nyx. For everything."

_My Zoeybird. _

I grinned at Jack as his eyes lit up at the sight of the Tulsa House. I called air to me.

"Damien?" I said softly. "I know it's a lot to ask of you but... I think you need to come to the front gate. No... I know you do." I couldn't help but to grin. "There's... there's someone who would like to see you." I laughed, the sound filled with so much joy. I think that was what made Damien answer back.

_I'm coming._ His voice whispered through my head.

"And bring the others." I said, giggling.

Jack giggled, too.

"You seem really happy." He said. I nodded, hugging him once more.

"Because I am. You may have to go after this. But at least we get to see you. And... just know that this isn't the last time you'll see me. I tend to visit the Otherworld a lot." I said with a grin.

"Zoey, what—" I looked over to the Twins, Stevie Rae, Darius, Aphrodite, Stark, and Erik, frozen before us. But one person caught my eyes.

Damien.

"Jack!" The word was ripped from his soul as he ran over to us. The others ran over, as well. Aphrodite even joined the group hug, tears in her eyes.

"Are you _crying_, Aphrodite?" I teased. She glared.

"Of course not! I have something in my eye." She snapped. Jack laughed.

"Awwww. You missed me!" He said, hugging her. She rolled her eyes with a sigh, but hugged him back, a smile on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just... do something with your boyfriend. He's killing me, here!" She said in frustration.

Jack pulled Damien in his arms and kissed him softly.

"I've missed you so much, Jack." Damien whispered.

"I've missed you, too, Damien, but... you need to know that I'm happy. It's amazing there, Damien. It's... big word worthy! I swear! I can't wait till you see it! All of you will love it! But... for right now, you gotta stay here. You gotta save the world." He said. He kissed Damien once more. "I love you guys, so much. And I wish that I could stay here with you, but I can't. But... Nyx gave me her oath that I would be coming back some day. And I like to think that that day will be sometime soon. I don't know, but... Zoey visits the Otherworld a lot. She can be, like, my messenger girl." He winked at me and I grinned.

"So... you need to let me go, Damien. Let go of all the bad things. Be happy." He paused. "That doesn't necessarily mean to get a new boyfriend. Just... be happy... without one..."

Damien laughed.

"I would never think of finding someone else, when I have you. Whether you're here or not, I still love you. With all my heart." He said.

Jack began to shimmer.

"Jack!" Erik said quickly. "I'm sorry. About a lot of things. And... I'll miss you. You were the best friend anyone could ever have. And I'm glad that I was one of them."

Jack grinned, and a faint blush colored his cheeks as he giggled.

"You, too, Erik. And... thanks for the purple." He said. He quickly turned to the Twins. "Be nice. And... keep Damien up to date on everything. You know what I mean. I'm trusting you, two. Along with Aphrodite." He gave Aphrodite a pointed look. She sighed and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Of course, gay boy. I will keep Queen Damien up to date on the latest fashion." She paused, giving Damien a look of disgust. "And I will keep him on schedule with his showers."

"Jack." Stevie Rae said. "I'll miss you. Ya know I love ya more than white bread, right?"

"Of course, Stevie Rae." Jack said happily.

"Good. You remember that." She said firmly. He nodded.

"Jack, don't leave me here with these morons!" Kramisha cried out. We all busted out laughing, even Kramisha herself.

"Goodbye, Jack. You were a good student. And a good kid." Loren said. Jack grinned.

"Goodbye, Professor. Blake. Take care of Zoey for me. Keep her head on straight. And Zoey? I'm leaving you to take my place. You gotta make sure everyone has a good laugh here and there. Remember: You can always find Light within the Darkness." He said before he slowly disappeared.

I grinned at my friends.

"I'm the best, aren't I?" I teased. Damien hugged me. Hard.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"Don't thank me. Thank our wonderful goddess." I whispered back.

"Speaking of which." Aphrodite said dramatically. "Why were you in the Otherworld?"

"Uh..." I felt myself blush. "I'd rather not answer that question."

"Too bad, mommy! You're gonna have to." Mackenzie said, reaching up for me. I pulled her into my arms and held her close to me.

"Promise me something." I said.

"Anything, mommy." She said.

"Don't ever leave me." I said.

"I'm not goin' nowhere without my mommy!" She said with a cute little pout. I grinned.

"Good." I said before I kissed her forehead. Loren wrapped us in his arms.

"Awwww. It's so sweet." Stevie Rae said, tearing up.

"Good luck, Birdboy." Aphrodite said, tossing Rephaim a sneer.

Rephaim kissed Stevie Rae on the temple, holding her close.

"I could say the same for your warrior." He replied with a small smile.

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't start with me. I don't like your bird daddy, your bird brothers, or anything affiliated with them. Which includes you." She said in her bitchiest tone.

I rolled my eyes.

Loren took Mackenzie from me.

"You might want to break those two up before we have a war on our hands." He murmured in my ear.

"Loren... we already _have_ a war at our hands." I said wearily as I made my way over to the two fighting humans.

"Aphrodite, you two have more in common than anyone else, seeing how you're both human. That's number one." I said, ignoring her when her mouth fell slightly. "Number two, it's almost four AM, and we all need some sleep. We cannot handle your diva bitchiness at the moment, thank you very much. Now get to bed. All of you."

They all exchanged glances with each other before laughing.

"Yeah. Good one, Z." The Twins said.

"Now!" I said, my voice sounding every bit of a High Priestess. They immediately stopped laughing and nearly ran to their rooms. I smiled smugly.

"Well... that did the job." I said, turning back to Loren and Mackenzie. Loren smiled down at me.

"My little High Priestess." He murmured before he pressed his lips to mine.

"Oh! Ew! Stop it!" Mackenzie whined. "Gross!"

Loren and I laughed.

"You won't think that when you're older. Trust me. Everyone knows that." I said wryly. She just laid her head on Loren's shoulder, drifting of once more.

"She loves you, ya know?" I said softly as we made our way back to our room.

"She loves you more." He replied. I leaned against him.

"I think she loves us both equally."

"I think you're both full of crap." Mackenzie said. "I love Aphrodite and Kramisha more. They give me food and let me do whatever I want."

We both laughed, and I ruffled her hair.

"Love you, Lil' Mack." I said. She yawned and laid her head back on Loren's shoulder.

"Love you, mommy. And I love you, too, daddy." She said.

He kissed her on the top of her head.

"Love you, Mack." He whispered.

"I love my life." The words were a happy sigh as I leaned against my lover.

"Me, too, Z. Me, too." Loren said.

**Almost EIGHT PAGES, baby! WOO HOO! So, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! OH! I've got me a beta. Captain Vox. Not only is she my beta for BOLWD and SYBG, but we have a joint account, Vox'n'Twins. We are currently working on our story now, her coming up with a timeline, while I work on my fanfics because you people are driving me INSANE. It will be a Loren and Zoey fanfic, I can tell you that. I am still trying to think of titles, but we should have one up for you when we know a little bit more about what we're going to write. **

**And be sure to check out Together We Stand: Goddesses of the Night, a pankyBaylin95 fanfic. **

**Thank you, **

**Jessica and Cyara Baylin **


	11. I Love You

**Heyyyy. So... here's your next chapter... **

Chapter Eleven

~_I. Love. You._~

_Zoey and Kalona Third Person_

Zoey stood in front of the door, unsure of whether to knock or to turn and run as fast as she could. Her entire being begged for her to do the latter, but something made her raise her hand and softly knock on the door. She held her breath as she waited.

The door slowly opened, and a smile formed on her face.

"Hello, Zoey." Kalona spoke softly, his tone polite. This confused Zoey, but her smile widened.

"Hello, Kalona. And... please," She began. "Call me A-ya." The words were barely a breath as she spoke them, and a slight blush formed on her face. The A-ya part of her jumped with joy, loving how she finally got to be a part of Zoey. Fully.

Zoey couldn't help but to laugh, a joyful, happy sound.

Kalona, a smile on his face, stepped to the side, indicating for her to enter.

She obliged, sitting on his bed gracefully.

"Kalona?" Zoey paused, unsure of how to carry on. "I know this is very personal, very painful, for you... but I need to know these things. We are enemies. We have been for a while, now. You have killed so many innocent people, all for power and Darkness. Your children have killed because that is simply what the do. But... I don't want to be enemies anymore. Fighting you and Neferet, constantly pissing you two off... it gets us nowhere." Zoey looked away from him, going silent for a few long moments before she finally looked back.

"But I don't want to be enemies anymore." There were tears in her eyes and her voice broke on the last word. "I can't fight you. I don't have the strength to do so. None of us do. I can't fight Neferet anymore. Damien is still broken. Still can't face her because of her killing Jack. We just. Can't. Fight. Any. More." She said slowly and distinctly. She slowly shook her head.

"I guess... I guess this is the day you can remember as the day the Great Zoey Redbird surrendered to Darkness." She said, looking defeated.

Kalona was utterly shocked. He had never expected her to give in. Even with all of his seductive charm and his suggestions to her... never had he imagined her to surrender, to give in. He had learned very quickly that Zoey Redbird was not the kind to surrender. She knew what she wanted, and she was going to get it. It was always just a matter of how.

He realized, with a start, that her and Neferet we a lot alike. Of course, Zoey wasn't mad or utterly insane. But... they were both filled with pure determination to get what they want, to reach their goals. Unfortunately, those goals were completely against one another.

They were Light and Darkness, he realized with a stunned disbelief.

It made perfect since.

Neferet, so cold, so heartless... even her soul was tainted with the sticky tendrils of Darkness that surrounded her entire body.

And Zoey, so compassionate, so caring and loving. So... bright and filled with joy. Kalona wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't even look at Darkness.

Darkness was one of those things where... they are too horrible to look at, yet to fascinating to look away. But Zoey... Zoey would not be able to handle Darkness. Her very essence was Light.

Kalona reached out and took Zoey's hand. She looked up at him, for she had been playing with her hands.

He slowly shook his head.

"You do no such thing, Zoey." He said with a small smile. "You surrender to me. There will be no surrendering to that creature you call Neferet. I may be immortal... but that bitch is crazy!"

Zoey was shocked at this and couldn't quite catch the giggle that bubbled over.

"And all I have to say to that is: Amen." She said. She suddenly sighed.

"Nyx banished you, body and soul, because you were in love with her. I'm in love with her, Kalona. Yet I am not banished. She is frightened that this will create... conflict." She rushed out the words, wanting to get this over as fast as possible.

Kalona felt as if her words stabbed him in the heart, but he didn't show it.

"Yes. She banished me. And... I do not understand why she has not banished you, whereas she was quick to banish me. But there will be no conflict, because I do not wish for anyone to feel the pain I felt when I fell." He spoke slowly, as if the words pained him.

Zoey's arms went around him then.

"I love you, Kalona. I truly do. I honestly have no idea what I would do without you." She whispered.

Kalona's heart swelled with an emotion he had not felt for centuries. He was not used to feeling so much love and truth. It was overwhelming, this feeling.

Zoey pulled back and looked at him. She took his face in her hands.

"I love you, Kalona." The words were firm, as if she needed him to understand them, to truly believe them. But they just couldn't pass the barriers he had built around his heart centuries ago.

He could not feel love. He could not stand the pain it brought him. He couldn't allow himself to feel that horrible yet amazing emotion. Not again.

Zoey seemed to understand what was going through his head because she gently pressed her lips against his in a kiss so full of love and happiness, that Kalona felt a huge piece of Darkness literally disappear from his body.

Zoey gasped softly as she pulled away. The Darkness that had once belonged to Kalona, now wrapped around Zoey, tracing over her Marks before sinking beneath them.

Zoey's eyes widened slightly before turning a stark white. And, suddenly, they closed and she shook her head quickly, as if trying to clear her head.

"Amazing." She whispered, smiling up at her immortal, for he was _her_ immortal.

She pushed him back on the bed and kissed once more.

"Do you love me, Kalona?" She whispered against his lips.

Kalona didn't know what to say. He couldn't let himself love again. But... he already felt so much lighter, what with some of the Darkness being gone.

He could be good again. He could earn Nyx's forgiveness, earn Zoey's forgiveness. He could be what he used to be, what he so yearned for.

So he wrapped his arms around his little priestess and kissed her ever so softly.

"I love you, Zoey Redbird. More than you can imagine." And, as the words left his lips, little bits of Darkness were lifted from him, allowing the immortal and his priestess to feel complete joy and happiness.

**I know it's short, but I'm on a POTC (Pirates of the Caribbean) role right now, so... yeah. This entire time, I kept seeing and hearing a bunch of brits. LOL. So... I'll update as soon as possible, okay? I think I'm gonna start on a POTC fanfic. YEA! **

_**~Jessica and Cyara Baylin~ **_


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